Rules of Engagement
by CeruleanKiss
Summary: Unless he's the one making them, rules never apply to Tora Igarashi. He does whatever he likes, whenever he wants, in any way he sees fit. And being engaged isn't going to change any of that. In fact, it just might make it worse. (AR fic. This story is mainly focused on the pairing ToraXOC, but there is mention of MisakiXUsui and they will be involved in the plot as well)
1. Something to Not Look Forward To

A/N: Hello and welcome to another of my Tora Igarashi stories, all Tora Igarashi, all the time. (Well, sort of. There are other characters in it too, though he doesn't seem to think so. *sigh* He's quite the attention hog, isn't he?)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Description: Unless he's the one making them, rules never apply to Tora Igarashi. He does whatever he likes, whenever he wants, in any way he sees fit. And being engaged isn't going to change any of that. In fact, it just might make it worse.

This is an AR (Alternate Reality) fan fiction, meaning that the world is the same, but some basic canon facts are different, e.g. Chiyo is not in this fic and my OC takes her place in the storyline, the timeline from the manga is a bit tweaked, with certain events being skipped over or altered to fit the purposes of my story better... All in all it's different, but also the same in a lot of ways too.

Enjoy the read, and R&R if you please ^_^

CK:*

* * *

Chapter One

Something to Not Look Forward To

...

"You are not getting out of this arrangement, Tora."

"Of course not." Yellow-gold eyes moved to meet a matching pair of the same shade. "But did you really think I wouldn't protest to some degree?"

"Well, try to be reasonable about this much, at least." His mother cut in, and Tora spared her a glance. "We are asking that you formally meet her, so that you might see for yourself why we've chosen her. Can't you do that? It's a simple dinner―"

"No," He grit out tersely. "It isn't. This 'simple dinner' is the gateway to an arranged marriage that I want no part in. Do not urge me," His voice tightened. "to start something that I have no intention to see through to its end."

Aya Igarashi pursed her lips and angrily shook her head, her grey eyes narrowed and a scowl falling over her beautiful features. Her blonde hair was starting to come loose from its chignon due to the past twenty minutes of arguing back and forth, shaking her head more and more vigorously as time stretched on and her frustration grew; still, though, the messy hairdo didn't stop the woman from looking like elegance incarnate. The sour look on her face, however, did not become her.

Not that she could very much help it when she was around her troublesome son. No matter how she tried to persuade him, her words slid off of him and left no effect whatsoever ― he was oil, she was water.

Stormy eyes snapped onto the tall, broad-shouldered man to the woman's left, imploring him with a sharp glare to do something about the situation. If Tora would listen to either of his parents, after all, it would be his father over her.

"Son," Tomio Igarashi had the type of deep, booming voice that made it feel like the very ground was shaking beneath your feet. His golden eyes were merciless, even as they were wrapped in a state of calm. His face; angular, hard, and handsome in an Old World sort of way without being weathered or worn, was like the still surface of a lake that went untouched, showing no creases or ripples over its surface. It only took one look at him to tell that he was the type of man who could not only control himself, but everything around him, with perfect ease. "Stop acting childish, it's time now that we settled this matter."

"I have better things to do other than tie myself down to some woman for the rest of my life." Tora's voice was not nearly as deep, but he held himself up with the same manner of calm, crisp control. "Forgive me, father, for disagreeing with you on the matter."

A muscle in the older man's jaw twitched, and Tora checked a smirk.

"Don't you want to settle down some day?" Aya, sensing the upsurge of tension in her husband, pressed forward again with her persuasions. "Find someone suitable to keep by your side, so that you won't be lonely in the years ahead?"

"You know mother," Pearly teeth flashed at her in a way that was all sparkly, sugar-coated spite. "Those words would be so much sweeter if they were actually sincere."

His mother looked affronted. "Tora, really, what a thing to say! Acting as if we don't care about you―"

"Is that what you call this?" He gestured between the three of them, voice bland with distaste, eyes narrow in disbelief. "Caring?"

She lifted one eyebrow in a smooth arch, folding her arms over her chest. "Isn't it? We are only doing this with your best interests in mind. Obviously." Her voice was a snap on that last word, her head jerking to the side as she let out a melodramatic sigh. Another strand of blonde fell out of her stylish up-do.

"If you were truly acting in my favor," Tora leaned back against the wall in a way that was utter laziness, yet retained a gracefulness to the movement that was clearly inherited from the woman he was speaking to. People liked to comment on that sort of thing all the time; how his poise was a flawless mimicry of his mother's. His hair matched hers as well, blond and straight, with the texture of spun silk. "You would consult me first, and respect whatever my decision may be. I have told you before, I do not wish to enter into a marriage with anyone. I thought that much was clear."

They didn't always listen to him, but they did allow him to make his own decisions. Usually. His independence was a given thing, since his parents were far too busy to look after him. The unspoken rule was, so long as he didn't blacken the family name, then he could pretty much do as he wished. The only times his parents actually wanted to get involved with his life is when it was convenient to do so.

Like now. They wanted something from him, but this time, he was refusing to oblige.

"How could you possibly argue this to such an extent?" Mr. Igarashi firmly broke through the argument again. "I know you like to have your fair share of fun with women, but there is a time where you should know when to stop and consider something more serious, something that will actually _last_."

Something akin to a rumble of bitter laughter curled up from deep within Tora's chest. "That is _rich_ , coming from you," He sneered.

"We just want you to be happy with someone, at some point." Mrs. Igarashi cut in swiftly, her eyes now practically begging with their son. "The sooner the better. We're worried about your future, dear, don't you care about your future?" Her forehead creased with concern, her tone sounding innocent enough.

Tora's eyes flickered, his sneer fading into stony composure. "Don't pretend," His voice went soft. "That this is about me. You only want me to get married for the same reason the two of you did, the same reason the two of you had a child,"

"Tora." His father's voice ― deep and dark and speaking his name as if it were some deviant thing ― was a warning.

One that the youth didn't bother to heed. He had stopped caring about his parent's expectations, a long time ago. "I am the only heir to the Igarashi name." He pressed on in a different tone, more detached than the one from a moment ago; as if he had no personal involvement in the matter. "When I go, all of your hard work with the company goes with me and ceases to exist. That is, unless I have a son of my own to start using as a business pawn―"

"We are parents." Tomio glared, amber gaze blazing beneath his cool exterior. "And we are businessmen. We care for your well-being, as well as the company's."

Tora merely shrugged, knowing full well that it was never as easy as that when it came to people like them. You had to choose one or the other, there was no in between. You either attended your son's judo tournaments, or flew overseas to lock down a deal with a client. You either signed birthday cards or contracts. Wealthy entrepreneurs were not the nurturing, homebody types.

"Ah yes, regarding my well-being... Do you really think I would enjoy being tied down to just one woman?" His brow quirked upward, his yellow eyes glittering, daring the other man ― one of the most powerful men in the country, lesser known as his own father ― to deny his next words. "If I am anything like you, which I am, then that is the last thing I would find agreeable."

An abrupt quiet fell over the room like the crackle in the air before thunder, and a muscle in Tomio's jaw twitched for the second time.

With an embarrassed flush rising to the surface of her skin, Aya did her best to save face. "You don't know anything―"

"I know plenty." Tora interrupted, seemingly immune to the prickling tension. "And unlike the both of you, I refuse to pretend otherwise."

"Young man!" When Aya was upset about something, she wasn't as in control of it as her husband was. Rather the opposite, actually; she preferred to express her displeasure. Loudly. Theatrically. Making unnecessary hand gestures, with her eyes wide and her voice ringing in everyone's ears to the point where you knew you had somehow bought yourself a ticket to the 'Aya Igarashi Show'.

The woman was glowering at her son, despite her blush, producing a glare that seemed especially reserved for turning people into stone. "What on earth has gotten into you? You are _never_ supposed to talk to your parents in such a way! I can't believe you would resort to such inappropriate behavior―" Her voice was ice itself.

...Melting ice, wavering into water. Not nearly as solid and freezing as Tora could make his sound, when he tried.

The young blond stared back at her with an eyebrow raised, unimpressed.

He decided to try now, cutting her off again mid-rant. "And you, being _parents_ , are not supposed to play chess with your son's life." He straightened, the action of pulling away from the wall slow and deliberate, as if that alone told them that he was done with this conversation. "It seems to be a habit in this family for us to do the things we are not supposed to."

His plan was to exit the room then, and leave it at that. He was just passing under the arch of the doorway when his father's voice stopped him short. "Will you not go through with our plans, then?"

With his back facing the other man, Tora glared something vicious out into the hall ahead. "I should think," He stated crisply. "I've made my answer to that painfully clear by now."

"Tora," This time, there was no deep, rumbling boom to his father's voice. It was soft. And it was low. And that was the worst thing it could possibly be. "I will not ask you again."

There was a long pause where the younger man turned his head slightly, just enough to look back over his shoulder.

Tomio Igarashi was a tall, large man. Not overweight, by any means, but athletically built with wide-set shoulders. And currently, he was showcasing a great amount of what Tora referred to as a maddening type of paternal despotism: the way he brought his hands into fists and folded one arm neatly over the other, the upward tilt of his chin, the fierce look in his eyes utilized to intimidate others. The way he stood, back straight, feet firmly planted, legs spread the slightest bit in a power stance. He was a force to be reckoned with, standing there showing just how much you didn't want to cross him, as if he were _one of the most powerful men in the country, lesser known as Tora's father, and how could this man possibly be a father?_

This was the man who had brought Tora into existence, but by no means raised him... And yet he had made his son into who he is today, and Tora didn't know how to be any other way.

He simultaneously owed Tomio Igarashi everything and nothing, and that truth was inescapable.

Which was precisely why the younger blond found himself stopped in the doorway, his body language indicating he wanted to be in a very separate space from the two people in the room; one foot pointed out the door and his torso only half turned toward them, indicating he was ready to leave at any moment, but hesitating. His eyes were darker than usual, brooding, and his stance was rigid and tense.

"Who is this woman, remind me again." Despite all of this, his question was inimitably calm.

"You can't even remember so much as her name?" For once, his mother's nagging was a welcome distraction, giving Tora something easier to be frustrated with other than everything about his father.

"Can't say I cared much to remember." He drawled back, reveling in her exasperated huff.

"You knew her better when you were younger, her family would come visit us every now and then."

Tora wasn't surprised by this. Rich families often kept tabs on one another, planning visits here and there in order to stay on good terms and keep both their professional and personal relationships fresh and alive. He'd made 'friends' with his fair share of people, both his age and older, who wanted desperately to stay on the good side of the Igarashi Group.

"Her name?" He prodded further; because there were far too many girls from rich families he'd met for him to possibly keep track of them all.

"Renei Nakajima, daughter of Ikuro Nakajima and Miyuki Sekine. Last we heard, Ikuro-san is still living in the countryside with two of his children, but we haven't really stayed in touch with him. Miyuki-san, however, has kept in touch. Some time ago she moved back to the city and started up Echo Entertainment, which has taken the music industry by storm. Her eldest lives here as well, working for her at the company..."

Tora, by no means interested in hearing every detail of the girl's family, stopped listening at some point to the onslaught of information. However, that name rang a bell, Renei... And he felt around for an image, a face to put to the name. It was strangely familiar, as if he had remembered her all along and merely pushed her to the back of his mind.

And then it hit him. The image of a young, pretty, gangly little thing with long hair and a smile brighter than the sun swam up to overwhelm the forefront of his memory. Yes, he recalled _that girl_ , specifically, much more easily than he might have recalled any of the others ― if only for how utterly different she was from the rest.

Renei Nakajima was that idiotic nuisance who thought 'no' meant 'yes' and 'go away' meant 'continue-to-bother-me-non-stop-until-I-wish-I-were-deaf-and-blind'. She was endlessly optimistic, and playful in every sense of the word that Tora wasn't. There was no such thing as alone time when she visited with her family. She and her siblings, but mostly herself alone, would try to drag him all over creation, even if he didn't have the time for it. And back then, in the midst of his middle school exams and judo training and school plays and whatever else he was always busy with, he really didn't have the time to spare for her fun and games. Not her version of fun and games, at least. Not that he could ever manage to have some fun of his own by messing with her, because she was far too naïve to understand when he _was_ messing with her, and if she did understand, then she acted oblivious to it. He really didn't think she was smart enough to _act_ like anything, though. She was just... Undeniably, irritably, herself.

He couldn't scare her off, and she wouldn't let him ignore her. Mostly, her family visited in the summer, so at least he got a break from her for the majority of the year... But when the weather started to warm up, that incessant bother of a girl would inevitably come with it. And it was all sunshine and misery from thereon out.

No wonder he had blocked it out.

"That annoying _little girl?_ " Tora turned around completely, eyes sharp and searching his parents to see if this was, hopefully, a sick and twisted joke of some sort. "You want me engaged to _her?_ "

"Make no mistake, she is a young _woman_ now, Tora." His mother flashed him a smile, the kind that didn't quite reach the eyes. All of his arguing was obviously taking a toll on her, making her already thin amount of patience wear even thinner. She looked tired, for once in her life, and he felt a vicious sort of satisfaction that it was because of him. "And we were careful to pick out the best for you, of course. She's beautiful, talented, charming, intelligent―"

"Everything an Igarashi should be." Tomio added on pleasantly. _Pleasantly_. His father was never one to sound pleasant about anything, unless it was related to success in business.

Well, Tora supposed this _was_ related to success in business. It had to do precisely with keeping the family business prosperous and everlasting. After all, he was their only son; the sole heir to the Igarashi fortune, fame, and reputation. And what would become of all that, if he were never to marry, never to start a new generation to take up the name and all the responsibilities that came with it?

"We believe she is the ideal match for you, Tora." Aya's smile grew in sincerity as she talked more of her would-be daughter-in-law. "Oh, she's absolutely marvelous. The two of you will suit each other all too well."

Tora chose that moment to remember a time when the girl had spilled tea across the entire front of her clothes, and proceeded to try wiping it off with the _tablecloth_ , of all things. He stared at his mother blankly, lifting an eyebrow at her words and barely withholding a snarl, "Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

The blond woman merely waved him off with a flick of her manicured hand. "You wouldn't understand. You haven't had the chance to study her like we have been lately." Then she turned to her husband, wondering something aloud. "By the way darling, how long has it been since their last official visit with us?"

"Five years."

"Ah yes," Tora droned, quirking the other eyebrow now as well. "I remember that happening and thinking it was a blessing. And what was the cause of such a miracle?"

"Their family split apart," Tomio explained slowly. "Due to... divorce."

"Oh?" Tora didn't even bother pretending to sound interested, at this point.

"At least try acting sympathetic about it when you meet her again, if it's brought up." His mother chided, sending him a hawkish glare. "I don't want you scaring her off."

"No," His voice was all silk as he murmured back, "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"Tora..." She started to warn him, looking about ready to snap in her current state. Tomio rested a placating hand on the small of her back, and the couple's eyes met in a brief flash of grey-on-gold.

"Let me do the talking." It was an order, not a request, and Aya let out another huff of air before offering up the slightest nod of her head.

Then two pairs of golden eyes were locked onto one another, clashing as they always did. Tora's father's voice was deep and even once again as he explained, "As I stated before, Renei's eldest brother lives here in the city. She will be moving here to live with him. Once she's settled in, we'll be having her over for dinner so that the two of you may get reacquainted."

Tora spared a moment to wonder why she wouldn't move in with her mother, instead of her brother, but the thought was lost in the next words he heard.

"Not long after that, the two of you will be attending school together―"

"You mean to tell me that she actually got accepted into Miyabigaoka?" Tora's eyes narrowed incredulously at the impossible notion.

"Did I not tell you she was intelligent, as well as gifted in many other ways?" Aya proudly replied, smirking at her son's bemusement.

"The two of you," Tomio repeated, gratingly. The man had an antipathy for being interrupted, reminding Tora that he really should interrupt more often. "Will attend school together, upon her personal request. Hers, and her family's, that is. They've decided it would be best for the two of you to spend some time together, get to know one another better after all these years spent apart, and we agree with the notion. Renei herself claims to want to try having a close personal relationship with you, even going so far as to leave her home in the countryside and switch schools. She is actually making an effort, hoping you will both grow accustomed to each other in the years to come."

"Isn't that nice?" His mother goaded.

"Quite." Tora's voice was thick with sarcasm. "And I suppose I have no say in the matter?"

The look his father gave him was all the answer he needed. Still, the man responded with a curt, "It has already been decided."

"Of course." Of course, he knew, all of that arguing had been pointless in the end. He didn't even know why he bothered with it anymore, probably just to give them a hard time before he had to inevitably go along with whatever it was they asked of him. It was more fun when they had to work for it.

"Are you not the least bit curious?" Aya regarded her son carefully with a trained eye, scouring his features for hints of what he might be feeling. Like his father, he was excellent at concealing his emotions, and she was never fully sure of how to read either of them. "Knowing you, you've got to be at least somewhat interested in the matter, since we've talked her up so much."

"The only thing I'm interested in," Tora's lips peeled back in a sharp smile, his voice drifting forward in a breath of fresh insolence. "Is whether or not you and father are actually telling the truth, for once." He took pleasure in the look on both of their faces before shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his slacks and turning around with all the air of someone who had just gotten the last word in, and was happily rubbing it in everyone else's face. "Although that is... rather difficult to believe."

He was around the corner and several paces up the hall in the blink of an eye, vanishing from the room as if he had never even been there to begin with. There were no words from his parents calling after him, but he knew Aya would have something to say about that later.

It was not until Tora was sure he was out of earshot, that he allowed a sigh to pass through his lips and a scowl to adorn his features. Unpleasant thoughts were swirling around his head like termites chipping away at his tolerance, and he wanted nothing more than to punch something. Hard.

"In what world," He complained as he walked. "Could they possibly be serious about this? It's nothing but pointless in the end, anyway. There are no women out there who will satisfy me."

None but one, that is. And as luck would have it, she was already taken.

Tora shook his head at the thought of her, and brought forth a different image instead. The young Renei Nakajima, with a dazzling smile, tugging on his arm insistently. Jabbering about this and that, all sorts of things he didn't care about. He winced at the memory.

It would seem he had very little to look forward to.


	2. A Far Cry from a Gentleman

Chapter Two

A Far Cry from a Gentleman

...

The young woman thanked her driver as he opened the door for her, and he responded with a curt tip of his hat before going back around to the front of the car. She watched silently as the car then drifted away from the curb, sighing as it eventually disappeared, before folding her hands in front of herself and turning around to take in the sight of her new home-away-from-home.

A massive building loomed over her; an apartment complex unlike most others, considering it was designed specifically for the wealthy, higher class of Japan. Several balconies gracefully hung overhead, their wrought-iron railings gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunlight and casting shadows against the glossy marble of the building. Down below on the ground, there was a long stone walkway leading up to the wide, glass revolving doors, and an arrangement of bushes trimmed into perfectly square shapes lined the walkway's edges.

She took her first step forward, and then another, until she was walking straight up to the front doors. It was strange, the atmosphere around here ― the city was definitely different from her family's estate in the countryside. Back in the home she grew up in, the sound of cicadas would meet her ears instead of the busy sounds of traffic, and everything seemed to be more colorful out there. There were playful yellow sunflowers that danced with the breeze, and blossom trees with their pink flowers that smelled so sweet, it made one feel comfortably dizzy.

Both places were vibrant, but not in the same way. In the countryside, everything was a big hazy assortment of color and scents, with a warm, open atmosphere. And in the city, the atmosphere that encompassed it almost seemed to be artificial; everything was just lines and edges, bright lights, marble and brick and steel, fancy cars... And air that wasn't as fresh as she knew it could be. The country was vibrant in a cozy sort of way, while the city was vibrant in a flashy sort of way.

It was understandable why her father wished to never move back here. He was born and raised in the city by a wealthy family, but once he had married his first move before starting a family of his own was moving somewhere open and free, claiming the city was too cramped for raising as many kids as he wanted to have. Then of course, there was his love of the outdoors, his obsession with plants and animals, that prompted him to start up a tea plantation in a quiet agricultural district.

She suddenly found herself pushing through the revolving doors, and was now standing inside of the impressive building. Inside, dark hardwood floors, swept clean of all debris, greeted the heels of her shoes as she walked towards the front desk, which appeared to be made of perfectly shined rosewood. Arched windows allowed dapples of sunlight to open up the spacious foyer even more, and the walls were painted a neutral beige. A chandelier hung above, with intricate crystals hanging down from it glinting sharply as they dangled there.

Now having reached the desk, she turned her attention from the several paintings adorning the walls around the room ― which were grandiose and most definitely expensive ― to the man behind the desk.

"Hello there." She gave him a smile, her eyes taking in his dark blue suit and tie, pressed white shirt, and grey hair combed back in a tidy manner. "Could I please get a key to room 1205? My name is Renei Nakajima."

"Oh!" The old man spoke up with so much enthusiasm that it nearly caused her to take a step back. "You're the little sister, correct? He told me that I should be expecting you today." He bowed to her, and when he straightened up he was smiling. His green eyes reminded her of the color of tea leaves, and they lit up in a friendly way the moment he smiled. "Excuse me while I find you that key."

The man turned his back to her, and while he was busy searching around she asked, "May I ask what your name is?"

"Danno. Benjiro Danno." He turned around, a silver key hanging from his pointer finger. "But your brother calls me Benjiro, and you have permission to as well."

Renei arched an eyebrow at him and accepted the key. "You are on a first name basis with my brother?"

"Have been for a while now," The elder admitted, scratching at his temple thoughtfully. "Let's see... I've known him since he came to live here in the city, which was..."

"Five years ago." Renei offered. _When our parents divorced._

"Ah, yes. That's right." His smile spread over his face again, accentuating the crow's feet around his eyes. He was looking at her in a grandfatherly way now. "How old are you? You look to be around the same age as my granddaughter."

"I'm seventeen."

"Ah, then she's a year younger than you." He started to chuckle to himself. "It's so strange, I can hardly remember my teenage years. It was such a long time ago."

Renei smiled kindly. "Surely not. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking, Danno-san?"

"Benjiro." He winked at her.

She laughed a bit awkwardly. "Alright then, how old are you Benjiro-san?"

He sighed, almost in a gloomy way, (if this upbeat old man could ever even manage to be gloomy). "Sixty-one."

"You know, age is just a number."

"And I hardly act my age." He perked up again, but he was never truly upset in the first place. "I like to imagine that I'm still a hot young college student." And once more, he winked at her.

Unable to help herself, Renei released another awkward giggle. This man was quite the interesting and amusing individual, that was for sure. "You _certainly_ do not act your age." She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to gain back some composure.

"And why should I? My bones aren't brittle yet, I can still move about just fine. I've decided that I'll act like an old man when I feel like an old man." He leaned onto the desk, a question in his eyes now. "You're still in school, aren't you? What school are you going to attend in this area, if I might ask?"

Renei looked down at the key in her hand, smoothing the pad of her thumb over its teeth. What a random change of topic. This man's brain jumped around all over the place it seemed. "Miyabigaoka."

He whistled, long and low. "Wow! Impressive that you got into an uppity place like that!"

"I am truly honored to be attending such a prestigious school." She nodded her head firmly, as if to convince herself of this. In total honesty, Renei felt intimidated by the big school in the big city. Up until this point, she had been attending a quiet, low-key school in the countryside.

Benjiro opened his mouth to speak again, but the sound of a trill _ding!_ interrupted him. Renei turned her head in order to see a few people walking out of the elevator she hadn't noticed until now. In fact, when she looked down at that end of the room, she noticed two elevators facing each other from opposite sides, and also two sets of stairs on either side of them, winding upwards elegantly.

"Well, I had better go get settled in." She cleared her throat and reached out her empty hand across the desk. Both her smile and her words were genuine when she told the old man, "It was a pleasure meeting you, sir."

He took her hand and shook it with great force. He was enthusiastic, even in his movements. "The pleasure was all mine, and please, do call me Benjiro! It's what I prefer everyone here to call me."

"How about Danno-san for now?" She called over her shoulder as she began to walk away.

"But―"

"I look forward to getting to know you better as I'm staying here, Danno-san."

"Hey, it isn't polite to tease an old man!"

"But you're not an old man, now are you?" She made it a point to look around and wink at him, and was then followed by his jovial laughter as she stepped into one of the elevators.

 _At least the people in the city aren't so bad,_ She thought with a small smile while the elevator door slid shut in front of her.

xx

Room 5 on the 12th floor of the building was well furnished, clean, and had a stunning view of the cityscape from its balcony.

Renei leaned against the railing, closing her eyes as a slight breeze drifted her way. She inhaled deeply, not so much taking in the scent of the air, but breathing in the atmosphere ― the warm sunlight, the birds tweeting above her on the roof, and the euphoric feeling of being so high up. She wasn't afraid of heights, never had been. She found it calming to be so close to the sky, and couldn't wait to come out here at night and see the stars suspended overhead.

Letting out the air in her lungs slowly, she opened her eyes only to have the sunlight momentarily blind her. That, she supposed, was a sign for her to get back inside already and stop wasting time doing nothing. She hadn't moved from this spot since finding the balcony half an hour ago, sometime after entering the apartment.

Turning around, Renei walked up to the glass door behind her and went back inside.

That specific door was the only one that led out onto the balcony, and it was connected to the lounging area. She paused after sliding the door closed behind her, trying to re-acquaint herself with the room. Earlier, she had gone about exploring the apartment, but she hadn't really paid close attention to detail.

This particular room was all whitewashed with black accents. She made her way past the sectional sofa and the pair of leather recliners, her feet sinking soundlessly into the plush carpet.

She turned her head to her left, where she could see the hallway that she already knew led into the kitchen. She then looked to the wall that the TV was resting against, and her eyes landed on the edge of the wall, where another hallway led to the bedrooms, studio, and study.

"I suppose I should unpack my things now." Renei sighed as she made her way into the hall ― her bare feet suddenly felt nice and cool against the hardwood flooring. "It's nice that Masao had someone bring my stuff over before I got here. He's always on top of things."

The hallway that she walked down had several closed doors along the way, and she had already peeked into each of them. There was a private recording studio, which also doubled as the music room, and she knew it was there due to her brother's line of work. There was also a study with several desks inside and walls of books to choose from her brother's personal library. And at the very end of the hall were the bedrooms.

The bedroom to the left was Masao's room, and when she'd looked inside she hadn't been surprised to find everything in perfect order ― the bed was made with the sheets pulled taut against the mattress, the shelves were dusted, the carpet had not even a single item resting on its floor.

He was quite the clean freak. But then, who was she to judge him? She herself suffered from some form or another of impulsive cleanliness, and if his room hadn't been straightened up properly she surely would have gone in and fixed it for him.

The bedroom to the right was hers, the only spare bedroom in the apartment.

Renei walked right inside, her feet transferring from the hardwood flooring of the hallway to the fuzzy carpeting of her new room. She stopped near the bed, where all of her suitcases and bags were set on top of, and she smiled at the scent that filled the room ― cherry blossoms.

Masao had remembered how much she loved the smell of cherry blossoms, and had added a nice, homey touch to her living quarters by placing a scented candle in the bathroom that adjoined the bedroom. The scent was so strong it wafted through the air and into every crevice it could reach.

"I'll have to remember to thank him for that." She spoke fondly, tossing a glance around the bedroom again before glancing down at her bags. She reached forward, about to unzip the suitcase closest to her, when her eyes caught sight of something she hadn't noticed before: a picture frame resting on the bedside table. Curious, Renei picked it up impulsively, wondering if it had a photograph in it.

It did.

It was an old photo, taken when she was probably only a year old. The picture had the whole family in it.

Her father stood in the center of the group holding Renei against his hip. He looked so young and healthy back then... The twins stood to his right, and if Renei had only been a year old, then they would have been five when this was taken. Yumiko, the younger of the two, was rolling her eyes at her older twin, who was sticking his tongue out at the photographer and making bunny ears above his twin's head. Renei smiled as she looked at him. That was Daisuke for you ― he could never take anything seriously. Her eyes then went to the other side of her father, where her eldest brother was standing. He appeared to be glancing over at his younger brother with a disapproving look in his eyes, but there was also some amusement there as well. That was Masao? He looked so different, only nine years old!

Her mother was standing on the other side of the twins, and Renei's gaze deliberately skimmed past that woman's face, ignoring her presence in the family photo completely.

"Renei―"

With a jolt, she dropped the picture frame back onto the table and turned around to see her eldest brother standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he was looking at her with dubious dark blue eyes.

"―I can't believe you still haven't gotten yourself situated yet." He finished with a disapproving look, much like the one in the photograph.

Renei folded her arms as well, frowning at her brother. "I was getting to it. And did you not just notice you startled me? You could apologize for that before you start to lecture me about what I haven't yet done."

A small smile twitched at the corner of the man's lips. "And you could greet me a bit more politely before scolding me like that. We haven't seen each other since I visited last summer, so I had expected a friendlier welcome when I got here. Though I _am_ rather relieved that you didn't get it in your head to cook anything."

"Oh yes, it has been that long." She narrowed her eyes at him, ignoring his comment about cooking (the one thing she was positively useless at). "Why didn't you visit on Christmas?"

"I had work to attend to, the band I was dealing with at the time was releasing a holiday CD. It was a busy season and I nearly worked myself to death." He moved into the room and reached out his arms towards her expectantly. "Come here, kid."

"Now don't go wearing yourself too thin. Honestly, you need more vacation time." Renei moved into his arms and allowed him to wrap her up in a tight hug. "And I resent the fact that you're still calling me a kid."

Masao chuckled at her words, his chin lightly brushing the top of her head. "The music industry would surely collapse if I took even a little bit of time off, _young lady_."

"Surely." Renei agreed with a touch of sarcasm, her words muffled with her face buried in the front of his shirt. "We all miss you, back at home, Masao." She pulled away and reached up, using her pointer finger to press his glasses further up his nose for him. "And Daisuke told me to let you know he especially misses how dorky you look in those glasses." Her grin was a wry one.

Masao drew back with a huff. "They are fashionable. He just has no sense of style."

Renei shook her head at him in amusement and turned back to her bed. She unzipped that suitcase, finally. "Thank you for the candle, by the way. My room smells like home, and I appreciate that you were so thoughtful."

"It was nothing. I simply want you to feel comfortable here with me, since you'll be staying until you finish highschool."

She nodded her head at his words, absentmindedly unfolding and refolding the shirt she had pulled from her suitcase. Until she finished school... That was two whole years. And she was engaged to be married... What was going to happen due to that? When she married, would she have to live here in the city with her... husband?

"So, how was work today?" She shook herself from her troubling thoughts, and glanced over her shoulder. Renei's eyes narrowed when she noticed her brother edging back towards the door. "Masao..."

"Speaking of work, I actually have to look over this demo." He pulled a CD out of the work bag slung over his shoulder. "It was given to me today, and I left early to come here and see you, so I never got to listen to it." He was half-way out the door by now, hesitating as he tossed a glance her way. "Would you mind if we talked later?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I suppose that's fine. I have to unpack, and then shower and get ready for that dinner tonight anyway."

"Remember to dress up. The Igarashi family is incredibly high up in the business world, you'll need to look your best and―"

She raised an arm and waved him off. "I know, believe me I'm well aware! Shoo, go do your work. I can't get things done with you in here jabbering at me about the way I should act and look and talk and eat."

He scowled at her. "Well alright, I'm going to be in the studio then. Come find me when you're ready to leave."

"There's no need, I can get a ride for myself―"

"Renei," Masao took a step back into the room, glaring sternly. "You had better let me know before you leave, because I would like to go with you."

She sighed, walking over to the dresser and placing a pile of folded clothes inside of one of its drawers. "I'm a big girl and I can handle this on my own." Really, she may not be used to the city but she knew well enough how to call a cab. She wasn't naïve.

"At least allow me to make sure you arrive safely and on time."

When she heard the sound of her eldest brother's voice, filled with indignation and with a sharp note ending on the last word, she decided to relent. Masao was typically kind, but he could be intimidating when he wanted to be, (not to mention a real stubborn hard ass, as Daisuke would say) and she didn't want to be disrespectful when he was going to be providing for her while she stayed in the city. She might as well let him have his way, it wasn't that big of a deal.

However it _would_ be nice to start being treated as an adult. She wasn't a little kid anymore. She hadn't been one for a long time.

"Okay." She closed the drawer and looked over at him. "I'll come and get you when I'm ready to leave. Now, go look over that demo already, it is work after all. And if it's good, then I want to listen to it after dinner tonight."

Masao nodded calmly and readjusted his glasses on his face. He walked back out into the hallway in a dignified manner, but she knew he was hiding some sort of sly smile from her after getting his way. "Of course. Hurry up and get ready now, the dinner is in two hours."

xx

"Why are we taking such a nice car?"

"This is my car."

"Then why aren't you the one driving it?"

"I have my own personal driver."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Not entirely."

"I didn't think so."

Renei and Masao sat in the back of a sleek silver Lexus, speeding rapidly towards the Igarashi estate.

It's not that Renei wasn't used to this kind of life style, (owning nice things and having servants who worked for you) because out in the country, her father was rich enough to own a small estate of his own and have a few workers around for cleaning and gardening and such. But things were... simpler, in the country. See, you didn't have to have a personal driver if you could walk or take a nice bike ride down a scenic route to the nearest shopping district.

"At least this isn't the first time you're meeting him, so he's not a total stranger to you." Masao mumbled, drawing her out from her thoughts.

"I actually don't remember anything about him." She admitted with a light shrug of her shoulders, looking over at her brother, who was frowning now.

"You don't?"

Renei shook her head back and forth, smoothing her hands over the folds of her dress. It was a deep plum color, and suited her dark features nicely. "Not really. I vaguely remember our family visiting the city on several occasions, but I don't recall who we met or what we really did. It's all a bit of a blur to me now. It has been five years, after all."

"That's not a very long time though. You're telling me you can't remember back to five years ago?"

She turned her gaze out the window, blinking at the passing cars. "A lot can change in a short amount of time, Masao. Old memories have to fade, in order to make way for all the new ones."

There was a short pause as he thought this over.

"So... He is practically a stranger to you then."

"Yeah, I mean, our families may know and remember each other well but _I_ do not know or remember _him_."

Renei thought about what happened after her parent's divorce, how she blocked out the memories from before it happened because they were times where she lived under a false sense of security, a false sense of happiness. Everything was a lie before the divorce, so why remember a life of lies?

Masao pressed a hand to his forehead, looking somewhat unhinged by this information. "Well... I remember him. Actually, I could tell you all about the visits we made with him and his family, if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary, I'd rather have a fresh start when I meet him again. I'm sure he's not the same person he was back then anyway." She leaned against the window with a sigh. "His name is Tora, that much I know."

Her brother stared at her for a long moment, his teeth biting at his lower lip.

"Perhaps I should accompany you to this dinner." He stated suddenly. "I may have known him well as a kid, but he's grown up quite a bit now. I haven't interacted with him in the past five years either, so for all I know he could be very different. In a bad way."

"As I said, a lot can change in a short amount of time and so I'm sure he isn't the same person he used to be."

"Then I think I will come with you."

"I thought I was the only one invited?"

"You were."

She looked over at him, puzzled. "Then why would you come with?"

"To become reacquainted with him." He pushed up his glasses. "To make sure he is good enough for you."

Renei smirked. "Father wouldn't give me away to just anyone, you know. And mother cares an awful lot about appearances. So if he wasn't considered good enough, I wouldn't be going through with this."

"But I should at least make sure he isn't... Trouble." Masao's brow furrowed with worry. "Most teenage boys are."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"You're being overprotective, and it's bothering me." Renei crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms. "So stop that, would you? I'll be fine without you there to coddle me. There is no need to act so concerned."

"I am your older brother." He argued, frowning. "It is my obligation, as well as in my nature, to act that way."

"What about Daisuke? He's my older brother as well, and when he heard about me moving out here to be closer to my fiancé, he patted me on the head and said 'have fun in the big city with your boyfriend!'"

"Yes, well. Daisuke is a child."

"He's twenty-one."

"It's sad, isn't it?"

Renei's mouth quirked upwards in amusement, and right at that moment the car pulled to a stop in front of a pair of elaborate white gates. The driver rolled down his window and leaned out of it, saying something into an intercom, and shortly after that the gates opened up for them. They drove through into a large, open piece of land with lush green lawns, trimmed hedges, tall trees, and a driveway that winded up a small hill. And at the top of that hill there laid a grand mansion.

"So this is where the in-laws live." She mused aloud, as the car ended its climb and parked itself neatly in front of a paved walkway. The mansion faced her window, and she admired it with wide eyes. "It does look a little familiar... I wonder who was the architect? It's so... Palatial."

"What exactly were you expecting? I run-down little shack?" Her brother shook his head at her reaction. "The Igarashis are an impressive family, ergo they have to have an equally as impressive home."

"I suppose now is the time to feel intimidated." Renei took in the marble columns, the alabaster stone walls, the massive windows, the way the golden light of the sunset reflected off of all of it and almost gave it a godly aura, and frowned. She then felt her brother's hand on her shoulder, and turned in her seat to face him.

"Be on your best behavior." He ordered, looking her right in the eyes. "Act like a lady, and don't do anything Daisuke would do." He paused, then added. "Or say. In fact, try to be the exact opposite of what he is."

Renei laughed nervously, despite herself. "Do you take me for a fool? I am much more mature than him, maybe even more so than _you_."

Masao rolled his eyes at her. "I am eight whole years older than you, I am the more mature one."

"But girls mature faster than boys," She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And rolling one's eyes is a very immature thing to do, and you just did that."

Reaching over her, he opened the car door and gestured for her to get out.

"Alright, move along." He pulled away and sighed, leaning back in his seat. "You need to leave me be before you make a complete fool of me."

"Right." She stepped out into the fading daylight, squinting back at him through the dark interior of the car. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

xx

Tora was alerted the moment the car pulled up to the gates of their estate.

"It's so lovely that she's punctual." He muttered, adjusting the crisp sleeves of his dress shirt as he walked out of his bedroom, then pulled the door shut behind him.

He glanced at his watch as he made his way down the hall. It was seven-o-clock, sharp. The dinner may last for an hour, or possibly two, his parents had told him, meaning that he could be wasting two whole hours of his precious time tonight. That's two whole hours he is never getting back.

Moving a hand through his hair and straightening out his bangs, it took him a moment before he realized he was subconsciously preening himself, and stopped abruptly. He rounded the next corner and slowed his pace a little. Just because the girl was right on time, didn't mean he had to be.

Unfortunately, he came to the base of the stairs in the next few minutes, despite his slow walk there. He could hear the chatter of voices down below; his parents must have welcomed her at the door.

He let out an annoyed breath of air, and started his decent down the stairs.

"Why don't we go wait in the dining room?" His mother was saying once he got within earshot. "Tora will be down in a moment, I'm sure―"

"I'm here, mother."

All conversation ceased as the young man made his way down the last few steps, and moved around the banister into the foyer. He approached his parents with the usual fake, charming smile he reserved for when they had company over, paused beside them, and turned to get a look at their guest.

His eyes slowly widened in shock.

The young woman who stood before him... Couldn't possibly be the same as the silly girl from his memory.

She was gifted with undeniable beauty. Rich, dark hair the color of chocolate cascaded down to her waist, every strand kept perfectly straight and sleek. Her complexion was slightly darker than the usual pale tones he'd seen in other girls ― it was sunkissed and moderately tanned, glowing with the essence of youth and health. Her body was, not gangly as he remembered, but instead lithe and tall, with some curve to her hips and chest.

Tora noted that she was much taller than most other women, in fact; without her heels on she might have been only a few inches shorter than his own intimidating height of six feet. With the heels' assistance however, she came up to be eye-level with him; and he noticed that her eyes were lovely and dark, both blue and purple, perhaps indigo or violet. It was as if they couldn't make up their mind as to which color they wanted to be.

His initial thought, brought on by the shock, was that this had to be a trick. It was impossible that this woman could be the rambunctious little girl who used to constantly irritate him. She was neither childish in appearance, nor skinny as a stick, and she did not wear an annoyingly bright smile on her face.

On top of that, she had a classy air about her noticeable in the poised way she held herself up, that might make anyone feel insignificant in comparison. Her style of dress was understated but pleasant, subtly accentuating her assets in a way that was the opposite of his mother's more showboat fashion. Her eyes had a sharp look to them, a certain depth, and she held her head high. You did not have to have a conversation with her to tell that she was wise and self-sufficient; that was probably the strangest difference about her, because she used to be nothing but hopelessly innocent and stupidly ignorant. She had also had a severe _lack_ of class in the past, instead only wishing to have reckless amounts of fun. She never cared about consequences back then, simply not understanding them, but now, she looked like someone who always considered every angle to a situation.

Tora couldn't help staring at her, intrigued by her transformation.

"Hello Tora-san," Her voice was smooth and warm. "It really has been quite some time since I've last seen you. But I see now that you have grown into a very handsome young man." She gave him a winsome smile, but it was not the one she so often showed when they were younger. It was different, somehow, less happy, less carefree. Not as annoying, sure, but also not as bright. It glinted, but it didn't _shine_.

Tora mentally checked himself and applied a smile to his face as well. He had to practically force himself to bow and take her hand in his, lightly pressing his lips to the back of it. He noted that her skin had a sweet scent to it ― cherry blossoms. "And I can see what a beautiful lady you have become." He released her hand and stood up straight again, still smiling, and still unable to comprehend this situation.

Then he went into auto pilot, going through all the practiced motions that were expected of him. "Shall I escort you to the dining room?" He offered her his arm, like a gentleman would.

She took it gracefully, like a lady would.

And as he walked her to the dining room, Tora caught a glimpse of his mother's knowing smirk that said 'I told you so', and he could feel his father's eyes boring holes into the back of his head, warning him not to screw this up.

xx

Renei got a good look at him using subtle glances, for she did not want to appear as if she was gawking at him (even though he was doing his fair share of gawking at her).

The first thing she noticed was his voice ― when he first spoke, it sounded familiar to her and she immediately turned her head in his direction. Over the years his voice had definitely changed from a higher register to a lower one, but it still had a sound to it that she recognized. So she inspected him with curious eyes, and found that she was impressed with his appearance.

He was quite tall, with legs that looked as if they went on for miles. He was obviously blessed with a lean, athletic build, and it was not hard to imagine sinewy muscle hiding beneath all of his clothing. His hair was a straight shock of blond atop his head, perhaps naturally that color since his mother was also blonde, and the lighting above made it look like a golden halo resting there comfortably. His jaw line was strong and angular, and his skin looked smooth and had a light tan to it like his father's did.

He was dressed formally casual in a pair of fitted black slacks and an un-tucked, white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. And for some reason when she looked at him, she could most definitely picture him smirking, even though he had yet to do so. Maybe it was just a memory from the past coming back to her.

What caught her attention the most despite everything else that was so dazzling about him, were his eyes. Like his father's, they were gold in color ― like melted butter, or marigolds ― a deep, stunning yellow that sucked you in with their intensity. When she stared into those eyes, the few memories she had with him from when they were kids resurfaced in her mind, and she remembered him at least a bit more clearly now. She remembered that she actually _did_ compare his eyes to marigolds, once. She remembered frolicking through the Igarashi's gardens, picking their flowers even though she knew she wasn't supposed to. And most definitely, she remembered Tora's smirk. He was always smirking at her back then, but she could never determine if it were a good thing or a bad thing.

After they exchanged pleasantries, she took the arm he offered her like it was a long-lost friend. Technically, he was her long lost friend, if you could even call what they were back then 'friends'. Looking back on it with more awareness than before, he had showed a clear dislike of her, and she had enjoyed his company nonetheless.

She remembered it was easy to poke fun at him, and she used to love poking fun at people. He would try to be so polite to her, the perfect picture of a gentleman, but if she followed him around long enough, speaking to him non-stop, refusing to leave him alone, he'd become extremely rude ― as if out of nowhere, his whole demeanor would change. It was like he was drawing loads of frustration and anger up from a deep well of emotions that resided within him. And as the curious child that she was back then, she had thought the drastic change in his character was fascinating.

Vaguely Renei wondered, as he pulled out a chair for her at the dinner table, if he was still like that today. Hiding complicated things underneath a perfect surface. Her personality had changed since then, so did that mean his had as well? Or was he the same as ever?

She caught his eye and sent him a small smile. Well, she supposed that was what she was here for. Figuring him out, figuring out how to get close to him, and finding a way to enjoy his company so that this whole marriage business wouldn't be so bad in the end.

After pulling out a chair for Renei, Tora moved around the length of the table and took a seat across from her. He glanced up in her direction the moment he sat down, and blinked when their eyes met. He was a man of good taste who had an eye for anything even remotely interesting, and her eyes captivated him with their swirling colors of blues and purples. It's not as if he really cared what color they were, but it was more like he could appreciate the dark beauty that they held. They were... Mysterious. And imperious ― they held your attention easily, even demanded all the attention of everyone in the room, and he wondered if that was intentional.

"We are having poached salmon tonight." Tomio mentioned rather suddenly, his deep voice in harsh contrast to the still atmosphere of the room as it cut through and reached everyone's ears. Tora looked over at the far end of the table to see the man seated beside his mother.

Renei sat up a little straighter upon hearing Mr. Igarashi speak, his booming tones practically shaking the table. When he had first greeted her at the door, such an impressive, intimidating man had startled her a great deal, and she still wasn't used to it. She recalled being afraid of him as a child. But she tried her best to smile at the man, no matter how scary he came across. "That sounds wonderful. You know, our chef back at my home in the countryside cooked the most amazing salmon. His secret was poaching it in olive oil."

Mrs. Igarashi sent her an inquisitive look, her grey eyes narrowed as if she were picking apart Renei's sentence and searching for its flaws. It reminded Renei of how a bird of prey would pick apart the entrails of its meal. That woman was a bit scary too, come to think of it. "In olive oil? Isn't that a bit too simple?"

"The simplicity of the dish is what made it enjoyable, in my personal opinion." Renei shrugged lightly. "I don't have an overly refined palate, you see, so I find it nice to go easy on the spices rather than add so many of them to a dish. Too much salt can spoil my whole appetite."

Tora glanced over at his mother, who was staring at Renei in a peculiar way. He wondered in that moment just how well his mother really knew the girl, because she looked as if she was struggling to understand Renei's point of view. Not that the girl's taste in food should be an issue, really, but it was just like his mother to judge people on the littlest things.

Soon enough though, Aya was smiling, the tense expression on her face wiped clean off. "You make a good point there, I must agree, too much salt is a terrible thing. It could be enjoyable to have a more simple dish every once in a while." She turned to her husband. "Right, dear?"

"Of course." He nodded in immediate agreement, but Tora could tell he didn't really care about the topic.

And then they both looked over at him, and he gazed back with both eyebrows raised high. What was he supposed to say? Was he to mimic his father and say 'of course'? But he thought fine dining consisted of a perfectly seasoned meal, no more, no less. In _his_ personal opinion, salmon poached in olive oil and served just like that _was_ too simple a dish. Also, it occurred to him that this was the stupidest topic for small talk that he'd ever had to endure.

Renei seemed to pick up on his annoyance, because she cleared her throat to draw the attention back over to her. "As I said, that is just my opinion. You do not all have to agree at once." She tossed a smile to his parents and they seemed to relax back into their seats.

A strange bout of silence ensued after that, and Tora felt that the pressure was on him yet again. However, he wasn't noticing the stares of his parents ― he was far too busy issuing his own stares across the table at their dinner guest. He carefully appraised her, deciding that she was a fine specimen and probably worth his time in the end.

Granted, he did not like the idea of himself being tied down to her... But yes, having her on his arm would be pleasing. He kept thinking, over and over, that even though he did not enjoy the concept of marriage, at the very least it was nice that his fiancée was appealing. With her figure and her lovely features, she wasn't the childish brat that he had been expecting. She had gone through some major changes since five years ago when they had last seen each other.

He did not know why or how she had come to change so much, however, and suddenly he found that he wished to find out.

Stealing a glance over at the head of the table where his parents sat, he could see them scolding him silently for not entertaining his betrothed. On a whim, he decided to humor them.

"Renei-san," He started in a polite tone, smiling sweetly at her ― so sweetly, in fact, that his teeth ached. "Why don't you tell me about yourself? It truly has been awhile, so I'm afraid I've forgotten everything about you."

He could tell his parents were cringing, even without looking their way. While he had started out that sentence pleasantly enough, he had ended it in a rather insensitive way by speaking so casually of how he'd forgotten her.

"Oh really?" Renei gave a light laugh, and Tora could tell it was fake. "How funny, the same goes for me. In fact, my father even had to remind me of your name." She shook her head at herself and sighed. "How inconsiderate of me. But I must say, it's a relief to know that I'm not the only one with a terrible memory."

Tora's eyes narrowed. If she was going to cover for him every time he tried to upset his parents, then this dinner would be nothing but a bore. He wanted to at least have a little fun provoking them, or provoking her, but it would seem the young woman wasn't going to let that happen. Apparently, she was set on being the perfect guest, and making this the perfect night.

"As far as telling you about myself..." She started up again, looking down at the tablecloth as if it had suddenly become interesting. Tora saw that her forehead creased for just a moment, before she looked back up at him with a smile. He was starting to notice, every smile of hers was becoming more and more forced. Perhaps he had provoked her somehow, after all? "There's not much to tell, but I'll give you as many answers as I can. What would you like to ask me?"

Smirking, the young blond cocked his head to the side and raised his arms up to the table, resting his chin in his hands. "Well, for starters―"

Mrs. Igarashi suddenly piped up, "Oh look! The food has arrived." She shot her son a sharp look, knowing he was about to ask something he probably shouldn't. Something overly personal, or along the lines of that.

Renei caught a glimpse of the waiters coming around behind her, and then they were setting up plates of food along the table. A long arm reached around her, placing in front of her a delicious-looking plate of poached salmon laid on a bed of rice and asparagus. The tip of her tongue poked out to wet her lips, and she hoped that the Igarashis couldn't hear her stomach's enthusiastic growling.

The eating started after that, since no one wanted to let the food get cold and go to waste. Renei dug into her meal with as much grace as she could muster, considering how amazing it smelled, and how hungry she was. Her mouth was watering so much she was nearly drooling and she suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast ― perhaps a few snacks here and there while she had been stuck in a car all morning. The drive from her country estate to the city had taken up at least half the day.

"It seems you're quite hungry." A voice mentioned from across the table.

She looked up, indigo eyes widening as if she'd been caught doing something bad when she noticed Tora staring at her. His eyebrows were raised, his chin still planted lightly atop of his hands, and there was a maddening grin spread across his face. So far, his food was left untouched.

This prompted Renei to look down at her own plate. Her salmon was already half gone.

Inwardly cursing her lack of restraint, she slowly lowered her forkful of food back to her plate and reached for a glass of water instead. Once the cool liquid had slid down her throat, she raised her eyes up again to meet the gaze of the boy in front of her. "I have not eaten much today, so as you can imagine, I am rather hungry." Then she turned her head toward his parents, eating together at the other end of the table and speaking in hushed tones. She wasn't quite sure why they were here if they weren't going to make conversation with their guest, but she could guess that they wanted to keep on eye on things between herself and their son. "The fish is excellent." Renei spoke up loud enough to get their attention, and smiled broadly, showing how pleased she was. "Thank you for inviting me into your home and providing such a splendid meal."

The grey of Mrs. Igarashi's eyes lit up with pride, and Mr. Igarashi smiled back at her... To the best of his ability. Nothing ever quite managed to reach his eyes, she noticed.

"We're glad you're enjoying the meal. And thank you for being such a lovely guest." Aya responded with a satisfied twinkle to her gaze.

When Renei turned back to her food, she felt someone else's stare on her. Tora, of course. Calmly observing her with those damnable marigold eyes, which she met with a questioning look.

'Splendid?' He mouthed to her, snorting at her choice of words before re-situating himself and starting to eat his meal.

Renei flushed and quickly picked up her glass of water again, gulping it as a distraction.

She could tell at this point, this dinner was only going to drag on.

xx

So far throughout the idle chitchat they had between courses, Tora had found out that Renei had three older siblings (one sister, two brothers), attended a school in the countryside he didn't bother to remember the name of, she was top of her class, a straight A student. She had mastered the piano and also took violin (though that wasn't her preference), because both of her parents loved the musical arts. And for a few years she was on her school's softball team (which he supposed is why she appeared to be so fit).

At the moment, she was talking about her youngest brother's line of work. Apparently, he was a vet whose practice was focused towards livestock animals, like cows and horses. He also owned his own pair of horses, and Renei was going on about how she and him always liked to go out riding through the fields together.

It wasn't hard for Tora to figure out why his parents adored her so much. Admittedly, her set of skills in so many different areas was impressive ― she was sporty, with her softball and horseback riding skills. She was musically gifted. She had quite a lot of academic achievements. And on top of all of that, she exhibited excellent social skills, if tonight was anything to go by. All in all she was a versatile young woman, different from most others, who usually picked one thing to excel at and stuck to it.

"I feel as if I've been talking for far too long." She finally admitted, and Tora let out a light, barely-audible sound of derision. He felt her eyes on him for a second, and showed her a flash of his most sultry smirk before lifting a spoonful of his dessert into his mouth. He took his time swallowing, eyes intently focused on her until she looked away from him and reached for her twice-refilled glass of water, taking a few soothing sips from it. Her own dessert, of course, was already gone.

Licking his lips, Tora leaned back into his seat comfortably and took to observing her further, since that seemed to make her so uncomfortable... But then his mother cleared her throat rather loudly and he glanced over in his parent's direction. They each pinned him in place with matching, pointed glares, as if he had missed something important.

The blond young man sighed in irritation, then settled his attention back on their dinner guest. Once he managed to catch the brunette's gaze again, he smiled pleasantly at her. "No need to worry, Renei-san, it's actually quite enjoyable to listen to you. You do have a lovely voice, after all, and I was the one who asked you to tell me about yourself."

"Yes, if anyone's at fault here, it would be Tora for not speaking enough." Aya added on slyly, dabbing at her mouth with an embroidered napkin while Tomio stood from his chair.

"I think this dinner has now come to a close. It's late." At those words, everyone looked up at the large clock located on the far wall. The time read 9:15 p.m.

Renei was quick to stand from her seat. "Is there a restroom close by that I could use before I go?"

"Yes, Tora will show you the way and then escort you to your car." Mrs. Igarashi made sure to shoot her son another pointed look as she moved from her seat to stand beside her husband.

"This way." Tora stood as well, gesturing for Renei to follow him.

The young woman turned to his parents with a low bow. "Thank you for your hospitality, I really enjoyed myself. We'll have to plan this again some time."

And with those words, the two teens left the room, leaving behind some very pleased looking Igarashis.

xx

Tora visibly relaxed at the lack of his parent's presence, leaning casually back against a wall with both hands buried deep in his pockets. Without them watching him like a pair of jail wardens, he was free to act as he wished without facing certain ridicule.

He glanced over at the bathroom door as Renei came back out, looking refreshed.

"Enjoy yourself in there?" His tone was playful, brow quirking in an expectant way, prompting her to react differently to him now that she didn't have his parents there to impress.

Boringly enough, the young woman stuck to her respectful routine, hardly batting an eye in the face of his teasing. "I suppose you could say that," She responded stoically as she moved past him. "You have a lovely bathroom, by the way. I've never seen one quite so grand."

Golden eyes gazed thoughtfully after her, and he made no move to pull away from the wall. "Do you always think through your words so carefully?"

Faltering in one of her steps, Renei quickly recovered and turned around to face him. Tora didn't like that they were eye-level ― in fact, he almost wanted to demand that she take off her heels, so that he could tower over her, even if it was only a little. He was used to having that sort of leverage over others.

"Do you always ask such intimate questions?" She countered, returning the quirk of his eyebrow with one of her own.

That drew a smirk from him. "Intimate, you say?" He pulled away from the wall then, drawing nearer to her until she felt inclined to take a step back, into a different wall. His body covered hers easily while he leaned in toward her ear.

"Nakajima, I assure you," His voice was a soft rumble, and he felt her body stiffen, as well as heard her sharp intake of breath. "You haven't the slightest idea of how very _intimate_ I can be." When he took a slight step back to meet her gaze, she was staring at him with wide, dark eyes portraying a discomfited expression.

Renei was at a loss for words, which was something she wasn't accustomed to. The casual breaching of her personal bubble had taken her off guard, not to mention several other things. Being swathed in his scent certainly didn't help the matter; he smelled like expensive bath salts, and something rich and flavorful ― perhaps it was the leftover sweetness of dessert on his breath. Then there was the golden pool of his eyes to consider, and the way his bangs swept over the corner of one with a casual grace most guys (and girls) would kill for.

Five years ago, she did not recall him being this distracting.

Most of all, she was conscious of the fact that she was leaning away from him, and that he was hovering over her, and that it was all very wrong because he made it _feel_ like it was wrong. Like they were doing something deviant, when all that had happened is that he had stepped toward her and whispered something into her personal space.

"Igarashi," Renei started, frowning when she couldn't figure out what exactly was going on. Was he threatening her or seducing her?

But by the time she finally spoke the blond had removed himself from her space, sauntering on ahead and speaking normally towards her, as if what just happened, hadn't. "Have you called for your ride yet, or are we going to end up having to wait for them to show?"

"I..." She blinked, peering at him dubiously for a moment before deciding to follow (at a distance) behind. "I must have forgotten about that. I'll make sure to call now." She pulled her phone out, quickly dialing her brother's number. Perhaps he was right to be worried about her tonight, and the sooner he got here, the better. Knowing Masao, though, he was already half way here without having to be reminded of the time.

"Hmm. Then I suppose we can go for a stroll outside while we wait."

Tora led Renei through the halls and back to the foyer, and from there a servant opened up the large front doors for them and they walked out into the night. Renei became noticeably less tense as the fresh air hit her skin ― she had always found comfort in the outdoors ― and she had soon gained back her self-possessed demeanor that she'd been maintaining for most of the night.

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" She asked her walking companion, deciding to place herself at his side in an effort to show that, if he was trying to intimidate her earlier, it hadn't worked. Or rather, it hadn't lasted for more than a few minutes (because in all honesty, she had felt rather intimidated). She was too busy gazing up at the bright full moon to notice, but Tora came to a stop in the middle of the walkway.

"Are you expecting me to say some overused line, such as 'the moon is nothing compared to your beauty'?" He asked flatly, causing her to stop as well, and turn to face him with yet another frown.

"No." He was really starting to get on her nerves, and she wondered what he hoped to accomplish by doing that. "I was actually just trying to fill the silence between us by speaking about what was on my mind."

"Oh?" Tora moved closer to her again, making her eyes narrow warily. "Then, in interest of filling the silence, tell me what else is on your mind."

"I'm trying my best to get a read on you. I have been all night."

"Have you?" His eyes spoke of a hidden amusement, and Renei had to withhold an especially irritated glare. "And why is that?"

"Because you've been acting strange. Or perhaps this behavior is normal for you, and I just don't know you well enough yet. But I moved here in order to get to know you, even if we aren't getting along right away, we'll need to eventually if we are ever going to be in a fully functional marriage with each other."

"You seem oddly insouciant about being forced into an engagement with someone you barely know." He pointed out.

Her dark eyes lit up knowingly, almost mischievously, and he was surprised to see her smirk. "Better that, than allowing myself to become unhinged by such a thing, like you obviously have."

"Careful." Tora was upon her in two short steps, grabbing her chin and tilting it down so that he could assess her from a better vantage point. "I could make you swallow those witty remarks right now if I were in the mood."

Renei calmly stared up into his gaze, allowing his hand to stay were it was, appearing not even remotely bothered by his touch or his words. Apparently, the same tricks didn't work more than once with her. Or she just had her guard up right now. "But you are not in the mood to do so. So would you kindly release me? If you do not, then I feel inclined to warn you that I bite."

He let go a moment later; grazing his fingers over her jaw line in a light, almost possessive touch before pulling away completely. His eyes were filled with even more amusement now, his lips curving in a half-grin at her words. "You bite? My, my, Nakajima, a lady such as yourself should never even think of doing such a thing."

"Perhaps you have misjudged me, Igarashi." She deliberately used his name as well. "You should not fit me into the mold of a lady."

Golden orbs flickered with the barest hint of intrigue. "Then exactly what mold should I fit you into?"

"I'm sure you'll love wasting your time trying to figure that out for yourself." Her eyes were small pinpricks of indigo now, deliberating, as if she were seeing him for the first time. "Although I resent the fact that you are the kind of person who tries to fit everyone into a specific mold."

Tora offered up no reply to that, opting to stare at her in the same deliberating manner, reassessing some things as well. The intensity of the look he was giving her reminded Renei of when they met earlier this evening, the moment she had first arrived at the estate.

"You were staring openly at me earlier." She noted as the thought came to her. "It's almost as if you were not prepared to see me."

"I was prepared to see an ugly duckling, not some sort of..." His eyes slowly trailed down the length of her, taking the time to appreciate every line and curve of her young adult form. "Swan. I was taken off guard by your transformation."

Renei willed herself not to shiver under his indecent perusal of her. "You're doing it again." She murmured uncomfortably, and then a bit louder, "Are you saying that I was an ugly child?"

The blond gave a half-hearted shrug. "You know, I can only recall that it was your personality which I found unattractive. But I can see you've changed that about yourself as well." He made sure to meet her eyes with his next question ― the most curious one of all ― "How did that happen?"

"That," She held her head high, only to turn it in the other direction to avoid his gaze. "Is not something I wish to discuss with you, or anyone for that matter."

He offered up a permissive little hum in response to her firm answer, after which they were both quiet for a few moments, entertaining the different thoughts running through each of their heads.

"I'm just glad you've become... Considerably less annoying." Tora professed rudely at some point, albeit honestly.

Renei pursed her lips. "You know, you have been acting disagreeable throughout this entire ordeal. Are you really just _that_ disinterested in learning more about the woman you are going to be married to?"

"I am no longer completely disinterested in you. It's just the whole idea of being married that doesn't sit well with me." He breezily relayed, and tilted his head innocently. "And what do you mean 'disagreeable'? All evening I've been playing the part of the gentleman who's entirely invested in his house guest."

"Playing the part, but not selling it."

The corner of Tora's mouth twitched, but the smirk still managed to reach his eyes. "You have offended me, Renei-san. I take great pride in my acting skills."

"I get the sense that you take great pride in everything about yourself. And you say I've offended you, yet your eyes seem to be praising me." She lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "Could it be I've impressed you in some way?"

"Now I shouldn't answer that, should I?" The smirk was now fully formed on his lips, showcasing a gleaming canine under the light of the moon. "If I did, then you would take pride in the fact that you've managed to impress a man who is not easily impressed."

Renei's brow scrunched as she watched him, coming to a rather abrupt realization in that moment. This was by far the most stimulating conversation she'd had in a long time, maybe even ever. Sure, he was frustrating, but he kept things interesting at the same time. Her eyes narrowed at him in wonder. "Who are you, exactly?" She wanted to know, and it wasn't necessarily for the sake of their future marriage together anymore. More for the sake of her own curiosity.

Most of the time, people couldn't keep up with her the way he was keeping up with her. Her questions and her opinions, he countered them with his own. He was more than just a pretty face in a wealthy world. Part of her was aware that he had always had more depth than that, and she knew without being told, that she hadn't even scratched the surface yet.

"Who am I, exactly?" She was shaken from her thoughts by his hand tugging on a lock of her long hair. He had his eyes cast down toward it, fingering the silken texture as if it were fairly interesting to him.

They stayed like that for a full minute, in the faded silence after his repeat of her question, almost as if he were wondering to himself the very same thing. Renei began to feel terribly awkward, and then his eyes shot back up to meet hers, shining suggestively. He started to lean in, she started to step back, until his free hand caught her around the waist and dragged her closer to him. Perhaps too close, if the mere sliver of air between their faces was any indication. Their noses brushed, and she jerked her head back; his mouth still smelled like dessert ― something sorbet, with meringue and also something basil ― she couldn't really remember the name of it now.

"That's just what you came here to find out, isn't it?"

 _Too close,_ was the only clear thought Renei could successfully form at the moment. _He is_ way _too close for comfort._

And then he suddenly wasn't, to her relief. All at once he had let go of her hair, spun on his heel, and swung casually away in the same manner as he had in the hallway earlier; effectively freeing her from the silent spell he had cast. And before she could think of a retort to throw back at him, he beat her to it, carelessly tossing her own words back in her face, "And I'm sure you'll love wasting your time trying to figure that out for yourself."

Renei felt positively stricken after that performance. There was a chill running through her veins, and she didn't know if she liked it, but then, she wasn't exactly sure if she was against it either. In some ways, it was a little refreshing, and a little exciting.

Just what was she getting herself into with this guy?

"Renei."

She nearly jumped out of her heels at the sound of her brother's voice. Turning around, she noticed him stepping out of his car and hurrying towards her. His gaze, however, was settled past her, on the tall blond figure moving back up the walkway. And the look on her elder sibling's face said he had witnessed more of that than Renei had wished he had.

Two hands landed down on her shoulders, dragging her at a brisk speed back to the car.

"Masao, I assure you, there's no need to be so protective." She muttered as they went.

He glanced down at her, the light of the moon causing a bright sheen to flash across the surface of his glasses. "You are going to tell me everything that just transpired, and then we'll decide if I need to take protective measures or not."

She sighed in deep irritation. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Unmanageable

A/N: Coming up with song lyrics is fun :3

And so is introducing new characters! XD

And so is playing around with Tora's evil side, mwahahaha! "ψ(｀∇´)ψ Ha.

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Three

Unmanageable

...

Renei adjusted the box in her hands before jamming her key into the keyhole, turning the door handle, and stepping into the apartment.

"Masao," She called out as she toed off her running shoes by the door. "Danno-san gave me some chocolates as a housewarming gift. Do you want― Eh?"

The apartment would have been just as she had left it that morning ― clean perfection, everything in its rightful place ― if it hadn't been for the items sitting off to the side of the front door that did not belong there. Four pairs of shoes, none of which belonged to her or her brother.

"We have company?" She wondered aloud, moving further into the house in search of where they might be. The lounge appeared empty, and there were no sounds coming from the kitchen.

As she walked down the hall leading to her bedroom, she saw the tiniest sliver of light filtering in from underneath the door of the music studio. She opened the door to the sound-proof room, and was immediately met with a collision of noise ― drums, guitar, bass, and the sound of a melodious voice singing lyrics to a song she'd certainly never heard until now.

 _"While I bleed and I beg_

 _on a thorny rose bed_

 _all I see is the lies_

 _the secrets kept in your eyes_

 _and my heart sets on fire_

 _when you bid me goodbye."_

The music had a dark feel to it, but the lyrics were meaningful, the genre had to be punk rock or something of the sort. Renei opened the door wider and walked inside, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. She watched silently as a group of four kids, probably close to her age, played their song while Masao sat in a small booth separated from the band by a glass barrier. No one had noticed her sudden appearance yet.

 _"While I lay back my head_

 _counting the hours 'til I'm dead_

 _There's a vision of you_

 _showing me just what you do_

 _you lure them in with your charm_

 _And then leave them, like me, to burn."_

Renei's eyes had been solely focused on the singer up until the verse ended, and then there came a guitar riff so distracting in its intensity that she had to look over at whoever was playing it. The drums changed to a duller beat in order to not take away from the guitar and the bass, and it actually sounded... really good.

This band was talented, that much she could tell already. And she'd only been standing here for less than a minute.

When the instruments built up more emotion behind their sound, Renei expected to hear the chorus coming up soon. Her eyes flickered back over to the singer, who had caught sight of her now and gave her a brief look of bewilderment, before he gave her a friendly smile, grabbed hold of the mic, and began singing again. The lyrics were the exact opposite of his smiling face.

 _"Now all the petals are crumpled_

 _Now the roses will never bloom_

 _Enemy fire rained down on us_

 _and you left me to choke among the smokey fumes_

 _Just what have you done here?_

 _You destroyed all that I am and what I love_

 _And now I'm lying here dying_

 _In a bed of rose thorns, that you tended with blood-red gloves..."_

After that last line, the singer pulled away from the mic stand and pointed at Masao, then gestured over to where Renei stood. When Masao turned and saw Renei behind him, he smirked at the impressed look on her face and pressed a button on the series of equipment sitting in front of him, in order to speak to the band on the other side of the glass.

"Okay guys, break time. That sounded amazing, you're making the best progress out of any of the other kids I've seen." He released the button and leaned back in his chair, angling his head towards his sister and pushing up his glasses. "So Renei, what do you think of the new project I'm working on? I'm going to make these guys the next big thing."

Renei walked away from the door and decided to lean back against a nearby table, since there were only four other chairs in the room and she assumed the band would be wanting to use them on their break. They probably needed to sit down, they looked like they were working hard. No doubt they were _really_ pushing themselves, if her brother was coaching them. "With you as their manager, and with how good they're sounding, they'll be at the top in no time I'm sure."

Before anymore could be said between brother and sister, the band mates all filed into the room through a door on the left. Immediately, the lead singer, a boy with happy peridot eyes and inky black hair that fell in waves down to a little past his shoulders, had walked up to Renei and Masao with a massive grin on his face.

"Hey there!" He exclaimed in a cheerful tune (it was hard to believe this was the same voice as the smooth, haunting one from moments before), waving both hands enthusiastically at Renei. "You must be Masao-sensei's little sister! He told us you were living here with him."

Renei was about to sort out her own response to that when she was suddenly engulfed in a tight, bone-crushing hug, her feet leaving the ground. It was surprising to her that this guy was able to pick her up, because she was a few inches taller than him, and he didn't look the type to be so strong.

"It's so nice to meet you~!"

Baffled and a tad uncomfortable by the contact, she hesitantly allowed him to embrace her even though she could swear one of her ribs had just cracked.

"Haruto," Another guy said as he walked by and took a seat. "You're crushing her, you know." He pointed out, voice calm and uninflected.

The arms circled around Renei immediately released her, and a pair of light green eyes were staring up at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry Renei-chan, I didn't mean to hurt you!"

After the startled young woman had gained back most of her breath, all she could manage to mumble in answer was, "Renei... chan?" Her head cocked to the side and she raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.

Haruto's spirits dropped instantly and he pouted, his face resembling that of a kicked puppy's. "You don't want me to call you that?"

"No, uh, please." She looked away. The look in his eyes was heart-wrenching. "Call me whatever you like."

The singer squealed joyfully and pulled her back into another hug. With as much subtlety as she could muster, Renei shot her brother a look.

Masao noticed, and moved to pull the excitable boy off of her and yank her over to stand beside him instead. He gestured to the only empty chair left to take ― the rest of the band had already taken their seats. "Haruto, if you'll kindly sit down, I'd like to properly introduce everyone to my sister."

Raven waves of hair shaking about as the boy bobbed his head enthusiastically, Haruto turned and sat down obediently. With the way he acted, Renei thought to herself, it was hard to believe the boy was somewhere around her age.

"My apologies about him," Masao mumbled to her under his breath. "He's like that with everyone. Can't really be helped, we haven't gotten him trained yet."

At those words Renei had to stifle a snort, but her brother covered it up by clearing his throat and gesturing to the four teenagers sitting around the room in front of them.

"This is my new favorite team I'm working with." Masao was proudly grinning from ear-to-ear as he said those words. "'Rose Picture'."

He pointed to the closest person to them ― a boy who appeared taller than everyone else in the room even while sitting down, who had a fluffy arrangement of golden hair spiked up atop his head, auburn eyes, a deeply tanned skin tone, and who wore a copious amount of jewelry (on his fingers, around his neck, around his wrists, in his ears). When he was gestured to, he merely blinked up at them, his face a mask of indifference.

"This here is our drummer, Ryota Okimoto."

Renei acknowledged him with a bow of her head, and he gave her the slightest of nods in return. "Sorry my friend almost hugged you to death." He spoke in that monotonous voice she had heard from before.

She smiled, trying to act as if it were nothing. "Oh, that's okay." Her gaze flitted over to Haruto, (who had sniffed sadly at Ryota's words) and reassured him with, "Really, it's alright."

Masao sighed, shaking his head and looking over at Haruto as well. "Ah yes, and that's Haruto Jakushi. He's the lead singer."

Haruto offered Renei a toothy grin, and she tried her best to return it. "Call me Haru!" She nodded an affirmative answer to his request, because she was sure if she didn't agree to that, he might burst into tears.

The introductions continued as Masao pointed at the only other girl in the room. "The bassist there is Nao Yang."

"Hey." Nao, a petite Chinese girl (much smaller in size than everyone else in the room) with dyed white-blonde hair tied up in a braided ponytail accentuated by a neon pink headband, and big, doe-like brown eyes outlined in black liner, raised a hand at Renei in a motionless sort of wave. Renei took in the other girl's appearance and noted that she was very fashion-forward, and had an air about her that made her seem, for lack of more sophisticated words to describe it, really... Cool.

"And last but not least, we have Shin Yoshikawa, the guitarist."

Renei's eyes went from Nao to the boy sitting next to her. She hadn't gotten a good look at his face when he was playing during the song, but when she looked at him now, for a moment all she could do was stare.

He was striking, (not that the two other boys in the band weren't, but Haruto was attractive in a cute, boyish sort of way and Ryota had a certain intimidating, bad-boy edge to him) he wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but he was handsome enough to make your eyes stick to him for more than a few seconds. His hair was a messy arrangement of un-styled locks dyed a rebellious, fiery red. It was shaggy and his bangs nearly covered his eyes, which were a deep, dark, sparkling obsidian. Like Ryota, he had jewelry on, though not nearly as much ― just three necklaces overlapping each other and a single piercing at the far corner of his left eyebrow. Briefly, Renei wondered curiously if it had hurt to get a piercing there.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Renei." He spoke in casual tones, but his eyes were flirting with her and he smiled when she stared at him for a minute too long. His smile was actually goofy-looking because it was a bit crooked, however its crooked goofiness worked for him because it came across as something endearing. It just made you like him even more, making him seem more personable.

It took her a second to realize that he had just called her by her first name, without using any honorifics at all.

She raised an eyebrow at his forwardness. "This is only our first meeting, so if you would address me properly I'd greatly appreciate it."

He immediately looked taken aback, and stiffened in his seat. Renei gazed at him in slight concern, not meaning to startle him so badly... He was acting as if she had just slapped him across the face.

"Oh wow, Shin." Ryota suddenly spoke up, his dull tone holding a pinch of amusement and mockery to it now. "She told you off."

Nao joined in, nodding in agreement. "That she did. Maybe it'll do you some good, possibly deflate that big head of yours."

And then Haruto spoke up innocently, "I don't think a girl has ever spoken like that to him before. That was a surprise, hahaha~!"

Renei stared at the four of them with a blank expression on her face and a bead of sweat collecting on her brow. She felt as though she had opened up a can of worms, leaving the red-haired guitarist open to the teasing and taunting of his band members. That certainly wasn't her intention.

She turned to her brother, who was observing the group with a small smile on his face, probably thinking the current situation was amusing. "I feel as though I've done something wrong." She whispered to him confusedly. "But I had every right to correct the casual way he spoke to me, didn't I?"

"Shin has a big ego and due to that he is very sensitive." Masao explained. "If anyone corrects him, ignores him, or shows a clear dislike of him then he freezes up and isn't sure what to do with himself. It's a weakness of his that his band mates like to take advantage of."

"Oh." Renei blinked a few times, and then... "Wait, what?"

Her brother simply sighed and motioned back towards the small group. "See for yourself."

She glanced over again, frowning when she noticed that the guitarist was now slumped over in his chair, his head hanging low and hands lying useless in his lap. Nao was poking at his cheek with a look of irritation on her face, scolding him about his posture. Ryota was smirking at him. And Haruto was laughing jovially at his expense.

"Is he seriously upset about this?" Renei accidentally wondered aloud, and the comment seemed to make Shin slump even lower in his seat.

"Perfect." Nao said, picking at her pink nail polish, as she had now lost interest in poking her friend. "You just made it worse."

"What?"

"Who knows when Shin is gonna bounce back now?" Haruto laughed, but when he saw the look on Renei's face he stopped. "Hey, Renei-chan, what's wrong? You look bothered by something."

She was gazing worriedly at Shin. "Well, I..." This was certainly odd behavior, and she didn't want to make a bad situation worse.

"Ooohh~ are those chocolates?" The singer suddenly jumped towards her, pointing excitedly at the box she had been holding in her hands all this time. "Shin-chan loves chocolates, maybe that'll make him feel better! Would you share some with him?" With his head tilted to one side, he blinked at her with hopeful, wide green eyes.

"Of course." Renei sighed, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the current situation, or mainly, the people surrounding her more than the situation itself. "I was going to share them with my brother anyway."

"I'll pass." Masao spoke up from the corner, adjusting his glasses.

She shrugged. "In that case..." Walking up to the red-haired boy, Renei caught his attention by placing one of her hands on one of his own. He peeked up at her sheepishly, so she offered up a small smile, and placed the box in his lap. "Just so you know, earlier when you were playing, I thought your guitar solo was really good. And I didn't mean to offend you in any way with my words, but since I did please accept these chocolates as an apology."

He didn't move. There was a moment where he looked down at the box, and then he turned his gaze back up towards her. "Are there nuts in these?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Because I'm allergic to nuts."

"Well, we could check the ingredients then?"

The young man turned the box over carefully in his hands. Seconds later, he ripped off the top of the box and picked up one of the chocolates, popping it into his mouth and groaning at the taste. He offered Renei a blissful grin. "Thank you, Renei-san." This time, there was an all-too-pleased lilt to his voice when he spoke.

They spent a moment staring at each other, Renei trying to process his behavior, while his eyes attained that flirtatious gleam in them again. He looked her up and down appreciatively, and she looked away, clearing her throat awkwardly.

"Come to think of it," She was all too glad to turn around to face the question in her brother's tone. "Where did you get those chocolates?" The look on his face suddenly went dark. "They aren't from _him_ , are they?"

"No," Renei sighed as Masao visibly seemed to relax. "Danno-san gave them to me as a housewarming gift." She paused, then added as a reminder, "As I told you last night, _nothing happened_ between us, so please stop acting so resentful."

"Between who?" Shin asked, but no one seemed to have heard him.

"I do not resent the boy, per se," Masao gave a self-righteous sniff. "It is more his actions that I resent."

"Well alright then," Renei gave him a certain sharp look. "Please do your resenting quietly in the corner. You're embarrassing me."

Her brother looked down at her with wide eyes. "I embarrass you?"

Behind them someone cleared their throat awkwardly, copying Renei from before.

"Perhaps this is a conversation we should have at a later time." She mentioned coolly, turning to leave the studio. "I'll be heading to my room now. I need to relax for a bit, the city air is so stuffy, I thought I would pass out on my run this morning."

"It was nice meeting you, Renei-chan!" Haruto expressed with a smile that stretched all the way across his face.

"Yeah, and thanks for the chocolates." She looked over at Shin, who was licking the corner of his mouth where some of the chocolate had gotten smeared. He winked at her, smiling crookedly. "You're my new favorite, just for that."

That made her blush lightly, feeling a tad self-conscious with the way he was treating her. "They were given to you as an apology, so I don't think that's necessary..."

"Alright Shin, can't you ever control yourself? Enough with the flirting, let's get back to practice already." Nao stood from her seat, walking back into the room with all the instruments. "See ya around, Renei-san."

"I agree, we should return to practice." Ryota followed after her, tossing Renei a look over his shoulder and a slight nod.

Renei did her best to smile and wave back. "Sorry for interrupting."

Haruto leapt to her and gathered her into his arms for one last hug. "It's no problem at all, Renei-chan, thanks for the break from work! I hope we'll all meet up again like this soon!"

When he let her breathe again, he turned around and grabbed a hold of Shin's arm, pretty much dragging the red-head back into the other room. Shin was complaining about feeling tired and sick after eating all the chocolates in one sitting, and Haruto was just laughing and ignoring him, pushing him back towards his guitar.

"By the way," Masao mentioned breezily as he turned back around in his seat to face the panel of buttons and glass window. "They're all enrolled at Miyabigaoka."

Renei twitched. "...Really?"

"Really."

"Well... Alright then."

" _Are_ you alright?"

"I'm just trying to imagine being around them more often, that's all."

"And?"

"And even imagining it makes me uncomfortable."

Masao laughed good-naturedly, shaking his head back and forth. "I think you're in for an eventful school year, for sure. You'll probably end up having all sorts of fun."

Renei nibbled at her lip and turned away without an answer. There was a time when she knew how to have fun, how to make friends with everyone. But that time had passed, and now she couldn't really remember if there was a point to any of it.

She'd just add this to the list of things she would have to learn to get used to.

xx

"If you don't mind me asking, what is she like?"

"She is..."

Tora trailed off thoughtfully. He walked a short distance across the room to the wall, and there he took his time collecting several darts from a dart board.

"...Not like most women."

Kanade Maki, heir to the Maki Dining Group and Student Council Vice President at Miyabigaoka High School ― a respectful individual who came the closest to being an actual friend to the Igarashi heir ― stared at the blond young man as he walked back over to stand behind the line indicated on the floor.

"How so?" He asked politely.

Tora dropped the collection of darts into the other's open hand, keeping one for himself. He drew his arm back, golden gaze focused on the dart board. "For starters, she's not easy to figure out. Most other women are painfully simple." He threw the dart, and it soared through the air soundlessly before hitting just around the outside of the inner-most circle on the board. "Missed. Hand me another one."

Obediently, the raven-haired boy handed over another dart.

Tora took the same stance as before, again drawing his arm back. "She is tricky to get a read on. Quite the actress, I must say." He threw, and again barely missed his mark. Calmly, he held out his hand for another dart, which Maki again provided for him. "She has my parents fooled, a feat that is usually difficult to accomplish."

Maki tilted his head to the side, regarding the other through slitted eyes. "How do you mean?"

"My parents think she's perfect. They are blind to the fact that she has merely been acting the way they want her to whenever in their company, and due to that they fail to see anything wrong with her." Tora let the dart fly again, and again he missed. This time, he frowned. "Tch. Looks like I need to improve my aim."

"You simply haven't played darts in a while." Maki explained reassuringly. "Even so, you've almost hit the mark each time."

"Under no circumstances is 'almost' ever good enough." The blond informed, grabbing two more darts and throwing them in quick succession. They both hit the center this time, one right next to the other. He smirked, or was smirking, until Maki cleared his throat. Looking down, Tora noticed then that his foot had stepped over the line.

"I've lost interest in this game." He declared with a wave of his hand, turning to move across the room, past the billiards table, to one of the leather sofa chairs. Maki simply followed after him, thinking it understandable that Tora wouldn't put forth all his effort at something he'd lost interest in. It was quite common with him, after all.

The blond settled into his chair elegantly, crossing one leg over the other and placing his chin atop one of his fists. Though his image looked almost like that of a pouting child, he sat with a certain authority about him that made Maki straighten his back as he stood there, waiting for conversation to continue. He knew Tora had called him over in order to have someone to vent to, not just so they could enjoy themselves wasting time away in the game room all day.

"Ironically, my parents think she is the ideal match for me without knowing who she really is." Tora snorted derisively. "Perhaps they are so desperate to find me a woman that they are purposely ignoring taking the proper steps to do it. They've simply chosen the first promising thing they've come across."

"How flawed is she?"

"Not too flawed, from what I can tell so far."

"Then why do you question their judgement?"

Tora looked off idly into thin air, his voice suddenly devoid of emotion. "Truly, Maki, you have no tact."

"Is she very beautiful?" Maki immediately switched to talking about something else, anything else in order to avoid speaking of Tora's relationship with his parents. That subject was never a pleasant one to discuss.

A jagged smile graced the blond's lips and he purred out, "Oh, more than very. And she's got quite the mouth on her, too."

"Did she offend you in some way?"

"Not quite." Tora removed his chin from his hand and leaned back comfortably, his eyes refocusing on his raven-haired companion. "She was a bit snide, once I managed to draw it out of her, and if I'm being completely honest I found it rather stimulating. Her intellectual acuity is admittedly impressive, and engaging in some playful banter with her was certainly my highlight of the night. Though I would never admit anything of the sort."

Maki nodded his head in understanding. Heaven forbid that someone find out what Tora Igarashi was thinking. The young heir was a very private person. The only time any information about him got leaked was when he actually wanted it to, when he had planned for it to happen all along. Nothing happened outside his circle of plans, he was an expert at working behind the scenes; he always knew what was going on, the right people to deal with, and how to deal with those people in the most appropriate manner. He knew how to play and act the perfect parts, and was a true master at collecting the secrets of others while also keeping a tight hold on his own secrets.

Aside from all of that, Maki also had an understanding for the President's incurable sense of boredom. All his life, Tora had been given what he wanted or had earned it with ease. He was talented enough to be able to attain anything and enough people liked him that they would offer him anything. While most would appreciate that sort of lifestyle, and most certainly take advantage of it, Tora felt it was gradually becoming more and more wearisome and unsatisfactory.

He could simply _buy_ anything he wanted. And when you can get what you want by merely handing out a few bills, well, you start to find that the value of things decrease. The less effort it takes to gain it, the less desirable it becomes. And so, Tora now only ever saw value and a sense of purpose in the things he had to work for, the things that proved themselves to be entertaining without the use of money and power to make them so.

"So," Maki began slowly. "What exactly are you planning for her?"

The blond had done much experimenting in his life, seeing if he could find anything or anyone that came even close to what he was searching for. He wanted something... Naturally entertaining, that never lost its value. Something that you couldn't put a price on.

But so far, the women he had met who seemed hard to get at first glance, only used obstinacy as a form of foreplay. It was all just pretense, always. Even the most resistant of women caved into him at the mention of how much he could pay them for their cooperation ― and where was the fun in that?

However, Tora was a dedicated sensualist. He'd never deny himself a guilty pleasure, and as long as it's pleasureful, he never feels guilty about it. Since guilt often holds people back from repeating the same things over again, finding and using women had become habitual for him. And it was, at the least, _mildly_ entertaining while it lasted with each one.

He just couldn't seem to stop. He'd do anything (or rather, anyone) to relieve himself from the constant boredom that followed him around like a second shadow. It was only when he became truly interested in someone that the need for sex went away. And that hadn't happened since...

"What makes you think that I'm planning something?" Tora posed the question without bothering to keep the sly smile from his face.

Maki returned the gesture with a knowing smile of his own. "You're _always_ planning something, President."

"It's a relief to know that while you are often tactless, Kanade, at least you aren't stupid." Standing up, Tora made his way over to the billiards table. He gracefully picked up a cue stick and began swiping some chalk across the end of it. "I'm not quite sure what to think of my _fianceé_ ," He spat the word. "Yet, but I believe she is under the impression that getting to know me and being around me will be a relatively easy thing for her to manage."

Maki walked over and lifted the rack away from the balls, making sure they didn't roll out of their triangular formation. "And?"

Tora leaned over the table, gesturing for the other to get out of his shot. "I plan to make it all very _unmanageable_ for her."

He took his shot, something devilish glinting behind his eyes as the cue ball collided with the others and sent them scattering across the table.

* * *

A/N: The reviews I've been receiving have convinced me that I have the best readers any author could ever ask for. You all make me so happy to be writing and sharing my stories on this site. Thank you~ :)

'Rose Picture' is going to be around a lot in this story, so I hope that so far you find them likable :D And if you didn't notice, the lead singer Haruto's character is based off of Ryuichi from 'Gravitation'. (btw Gravitation is yaoi so if you don't like that sort of thing then don't look into it. I loved it though, it was really comical!:) I just thought it'd be loads of fun to add in such a happy-go-lucky, childish soul into this story, since there will be some drama going on as it continues and some comic relief will be greatly appreciated I can imagine!

Just so we're clear: similarly to how I do not own Maid Sama!, I do not own Gravitation either. I'm also doing what I can to not completely copy Ryuichi's character. It's just I loved Ryuichi in Gravitation so much that I want to have a character like him, he's simply adorable :3

Ah, and one more thing. I'm sure most of you can try and guess where I'm going with Shin's character in this story already. I'm taking a sort of cliché route with him, but I like to think that cliché things aren't always bad. Because every author writes differently, so even if there are clichés, originality is never actually lacking.

But also a part of me loathes clichés so I will not exactly be making things predictable for my readers ;)

Anyway, if you think you've guessed what the purpose of Shin's character in this story is, write it down for me and we'll eventually see if you're right ;D

Again, thank you so much for reading!

CK:*


	4. Her Care, in Their Hands

A/N: For when Tora makes his first appearance in this chapter, I recommend that you go on YouTube and listen to Kaichou Wa Maid Sama OST 2 - Miyabigaoka no Igarashi Tora. It's basically the Miyabigaoka theme song, all fancy-sounding and such, and it really gives you the right feel of the school's atmosphere, and the atmosphere surrounding Tora while he's playing the part of the studious and gentlemanly student council president.

This is just a fun thought I had ^_^

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Four

Her Care, in Their Hands

...

 _Renei,_

 _Here's some money for lunch today._

 _There are numerous different places to eat on Miyabigaoka's campus, so I'm sure you'll be able to buy whatever you're in the mood for._

 _You can take a few snacks from the kitchen and put them in your bag as well._

 _I'll be working late tonight and will order take-out for myself, so I'm sorry to say we won't be eating dinner together._

 _I stocked up the food in the kitchen before you arrived, but considering your cooking skills,_

 _(or lack thereof), I strongly suggest that you opt for ordering take-out as well after school._

 _Quite frankly, I really don't want you burning down with the apartment while I'm gone, so please stay away from the stove and all other kitchen appliances._

 _I hope you find your first day enjoyable. Don't forget to lock the front door on your way out and keep your key safe with you._

 _– Masao_

Renei read the note with narrowed eyes, then crumpled it up and dropped it into the nearest trash bin with a huff.

"My cooking skills aren't _that_ bad..." She mumbled to herself, sneaking a glance over at the stove and then shivering automatically. "Well, maybe..."

She collected the bills sitting on the counter top, plus a few snacks from the pantry, placing them inside of her school bag before heading out of the kitchen and into the front hall.

"Honestly..." Renei sighed, her forehead crinkling in exasperation as she made sure to lock the door, as directed, on her way out of the apartment. "He's still treating me like a child... I know well enough how to handle things on my own."

Taking a deep breath, she straightened up, pocketed her key in a safe place, and made her way to the elevator.

xx

Shin Yoshikawa walked the halls of Miyabigaoka High like a prince ― a delinquent prince, that is.

With his ruby-red hair set in a wild display and his school clothes rumpled and un-tucked carelessly, not to mention the eyebrow piercing he refused to remove, he looked like a true misfit among the flocks of well-dressed, high-class students that also inhabited these halls. His band mates always showed up at different times, so they never really saw each other in the mornings, which meant that he could play around a bit...

Eyes lighting up as he spotted a group of cute first-years, he tossed the stick of his lollipop in the nearest trash bin and approached them with that crookedly charming smile of his. "Good morning, ladies!"

The cluster of girls turned to him, a few of them waving a small hello, most of them blushing like mad. Some of the timid ones turned their eyes to the ground, while the most bold of them all faced him and tried her best to return his greeting.

"Ah... Um... Good morning, senpai."

He cheerfully approached her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Aww c'mon, what have I told you about being so formal with me? You can always call me by my name, you know."

The girl could only squeak in response, making the red-head laugh good-naturedly.

Grin never fading, Shin felt his innards melting blissfully at the chance of having attention on him. His ego was having a field day, but there is one thing that would make it even better... "So," He wiggled his eyebrows. "Got any sweets for me today, ladies?"

They gathered closer to him like moths to a flame, each appearing to hold some sort of treat in their hands, be it chocolate, small cakes, candy bars, or licorice. His obsidian eyes gleamed with absolute glee, as the girls fawned over him and gave him offerings that would surely please his renowned sweet tooth.

"There's no nuts in any of these, right?" He had to ask.

When the whole group nodded, he tossed them another crooked grin. "Thanks! I appreciate it."

The reason half of the girls in school adored him, he knew, was because he was a rising star (and not exactly an unattractive one, either) and Miyabigaoka's students were known for finding the right people to make connections with. Shin had not expected himself to ever be one of those people, but when talk started up about a new, fresh-faced band who already had a gradually building fan base eagerly awaiting their debut album, suddenly everyone knew who he was. And, unused to such attention, he was eating it up like a starved man offered food.

Before being known for his own music, the only attention he had ever really garnered was because of his old man. His father was the previously-famous-but-now-retired Kaede Yoshikawa ― a heartthrob from back in the day, who was the lead guitarist for 'Three Wishes', which used to be one of the most beloved boy bands in Japan. Apparently though, kids his age didn't really care much about the past.

But now that he was making something of himself, following in his father's footsteps, Shin got more than enough attention on a constant basis. Life was good. No, scratch that, life was _great!_ His ego was happy. He got to play around and make music with his friends. Cute girls adored him, maybe not for _him_ as much as his looks and his career, but still, they adored him. He got to eat all the free sweets he wanted, and really, he couldn't ask for anything more!

...Or so he thought.

Ah, if only he hadn't turned his gaze over to the side right at that moment and seen _her_ walking by.

Long, silky ponytail that swayed behind her, looking like a fountain of chocolate, and sharp indigo eyes...

Oh, god, she'd be his ruin. And he was totally okay with that. He remembered thinking that the other day when he'd met her ― this girl was beautiful _and_ smart, plus, she seemed so unfazed by the fact that he's in a band. And she offered him those chocolates, too. That was nice of her.

There was a split-second where he was half torn between freezing up and trying to go unnoticed as she passed by, because she _had_ rebuked the way he'd spoken to her at their first meeting, and that _had_ been embarrassing... But he was also very keen on approaching her as easily as he did with any other girl. She had apologized for offending him, after all, and she was so different from the other girls in the school.

Without thinking too hard on the matter, he raised a hand at her in greeting and shouted out her name. "Renei!"

xx

Renei jolted to a stop, having been walking down the halls of her new high school with a sense of purpose. She had to find where her classroom was before classes began, and she wasn't about to start asking the strangers around her for help. Firstly, her pride wouldn't allow it. And secondly, even though interacting with people was easy for her, there was only so much faking a conversation that a person could take, before they got fed up with the whole act.

If only she could just be herself and perhaps make some friends that way. But then, she'd have to somehow _find_ herself again, in order to accomplish that. And ever since five years ago, when everything started to change, she hadn't been so sure of who she was anymore.

"Did someone just...?" She turned this way and that, wondering at why someone would call out to her. Hopefully no one had noticed that she was lost... She didn't want others thinking she was incompetent.

"Over here, Renei!" The voice called to her again.

She spun to her right, seeing a certain flame-haired guitarist approaching her with eager steps. Renei bit her lip as she regarded him with one swift sweep of her eyes. Oh no, not this guy. Anyone but this guy, please. She still had yet to figure out how to interact with his type... Whatever his type was, anyway... He had been so utterly difficult to decipher upon their first meeting. So remarkably _odd_.

Once he was standing in front of her, she forced her lips to turn upwards into a small smile and addressed him as smoothly as possible. "Fancy seeing you here so soon on my first day, Yoshikawa. Though my brother did inform me that you attend this school as well, I wasn't expecting to cross paths today."

He was grinning up at her, smile as crooked yet handsome as ever, and he was not at all deterred by the fact that she was at least two inches taller than him. "Ah, that's right, it is your first day here isn't it? Since that's the case, do you need any help finding your way around? I'll definitely be glad to offer you some assistance if you need it."

Well, that was... kind of him.

 _He must have an ulterior motive,_ Renei couldn't help the nagging suspicion.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary, but thank you for the offer." Her smile broadened the more she tried to convince him with her tone.

"You can call me Shin, if you like." His eyes were sparkling despite how dark they were, momentarily distracting her.

Clearing her throat, Renei did her best to remain composed. She didn't want to get hasty, she had to control herself and be patient, with everyone, including him. Especially him, since he had close relations with her older brother. "Not to be rude, but... I'd prefer it if we addressed each other in a formal manner." When she saw the sparkle leave his eyes, she worried that she might have bruised his ego again, and quickly added on, "I mean ― for the time being."

Why the crookedness of his grin was so weirdly endearing, she couldn't fathom. "So you'd like to get to know me better, then? That's fine, that's good actually ― because I'd love to get to know you, Renei."

She coughed into her fist uncomfortably. "Renei _-san_."

Shin pulled a fresh lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth with a smirk. "Sure thing, it'll be Renei-san _for now_." He winked.

Awkwardly adjusting her school bag on her shoulder, and since she didn't know what else to do at this point, Renei ended the conversation with a curt nod and began her walk down the hallway once more.

Unfortunately, the guitarist was now following her.

She spoke without turning to address him, voice cool but polite. "Is there a certain reason you're trailing me, Yoshikawa?"

"Just wondering about you. Could you answer some of my questions?"

"That depends on what kind of questions they are."

"Well, for starters, your brother says the two of you come from the countryside."

She sighed, failing to see why this conversation was necessary. "That is correct."

"Hmm, too bad you had to move here then, since it's so far away. Your boyfriend back at home must really miss you."

She stopped walking and turned around with a quizzical expression. He stared back at her, messing his hair up even further with one of his large hands as he scratched his head nervously.

"Are you not aware of exactly why I moved to the city?"

Shin blinked at her, obviously hoping she'd respond with something else. "I figured it was because your parents split up."

"That was five years ago."

"Then if you don't mind telling me, why did you move here? As you can see, your brother has been a bit vague about it."

Renei wasn't sure if she should tell just anyone she met here about her situation. She hadn't planned on focusing on her social life while living in the city, her only real plan was to grow closer to her fiancé, to get a feel for his lifestyle, and to get used to the fact that she'll have to be apart of it someday. Making friends wasn't a luxury she had while having a set mission in mind, so she'd never thought she would have to actually have _real talks_ and _explain_ herself to other students.

Indigo eyes regarded the red-haired boy carefully, taking note of his hopeful expression, and Renei got the nagging feeling that he wouldn't leave her alone until he had his fill of information. He was pestering her most likely for the sheer fun of it, maybe he was bored, curious, or both. She wasn't sure, but she shouldn't really care, because it's not like the reason why she was here had to be kept a secret.

Maybe she should just get this confrontation over with.

"I'm engaged." Renei bluntly supplied, meeting his eyes directly in case he thought she might be lying, or joking about it. "I moved here in order to be closer to my fiancé, Igarashi."

She watched as the guitarist visibly tensed, jaw dropping and eyes widening with disbelief. "You can't mean..." His sentence was broken up into fragments. "Tora... Igarashi?"

"That is exactly who I mean."

Shin seemed to have to rewind the process in his mind, repeating back what she had told him. "You're saying that you're engaged to Tora Igarashi?"

"Yes."

"Truly?"

Renei sighed. "Truly, I am."

Slowly, the boy took the lollipop out of his mouth with a quiet 'pop'. "...Huh. Okay." His brow furrowed, his expression tightening as if she'd just told him that she was engaged to the Grim Reaper.

Seeing this reaction made her own brow furrow. "What?"

Shin shook his head. "Nothing, I just..." He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"No, it's something." Indigo eyes narrowed sharply. "What is it?"

"I never thought that guy would end up getting engaged, that's all. He's not the type."

"What do you mean by that?" It began to frustrate her, how little she knew of her husband-to-be compared to this boy, and now that she thought about it, probably everyone else at Miyabigaoka.

Shin failed to answer her question. In fact, he was sighing heavily and shaking his head again, for some reason ― looking so worried and disappointed and maybe even a little frustrated, too, that it was starting to eat away at her burning curiosity, along with her patience. "I'm sorry Renei, it's just... I really don't think... What I mean to say is, I feel for you, I guess. To be stuck in a halfhearted relationship like that..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and let out another sigh.

Renei did the opposite, taking in a deep breath of air in order to keep a cool head. "Renei _-san_." She corrected, not knowing what else to say at that point. There were so many things she _could_ say.

The red-head shrugged in response, and then he was glancing around her shoulder at something up ahead. His eyes widened, and he grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Look, here he comes now! Speak of the devil... And I think he's headed our way, too."

"Wait," She turned her head back at him. "What are you talking abou―"

He grabbed her jaw with one of his hands and forcefully turned her face back around, to her annoyance. " _Look_. Your _beloved_ fiancé has made his appearance." For some reason, he sounded half-amused and half bitter ― as if the amusement was only there to cover up his bitterness. "Now, I am curious, exactly how do you two interact with one another? Does he treat you differently from all the other women, or..." His voice trailed off in a pitiful sort of way.

Renei did look (she really had no other choice, with Shin forcing her head in that direction), catching sight of a small group of students who appeared to be student council members walking through the parting crowds of regular students, with one young man in particular demanding everyone's attention as he stood front-and-center; elegantly striding forward, naturally taking the lead.

And the leader was, indeed, none other than her fiancé. It was impossible _not_ to identify the tall blond, even though she'd only recently reacquainted herself with his image. He was easily recognizable with the way he held himself, he appeared to be so set apart from any other person. He was a unique specimen that none could even hope to mimic.

He walked down the hallway with a strong, even stride, his head held high as if he owned the place ― and he had his very own posse following him, two people each, walking behind him to his left and right, and then one person walking directly beside him. Renei's eyes flickered up to his face, and she noticed that he wore a sophisticated, cool-headed expression. And his eyes zeroed in on people with a certain swift alertness when they regarded him, which most every student he passed made an effort to do so.

"Good morning President."

Tora raised a hand in greeting. "Good morning."

"How are you today, Igarashi-san?"

"I'm feeling very well, thank you." He smiled pleasantly.

"Hello, nice to see you, President!"

He kindly inclined his head. "And you as well."

Renei was completely unable to look away from the sight. He was so suave, and incredibly deferential. If this was how he led the other students as Student Council President, then his methods were admittedly quite...

"Impressive." She commented, right as he came within ear-shot.

He found her eyes almost instantly.

And the tiniest of smirks flashed across his face in that instant. However, it was so slight, so infinitesimal, that she wasn't sure if she had simply imagined it or not.

Tora came straight over to where she and Shin were standing, and held up a hand to bring his posse to a halt. Due to his presence now being so much closer, Shin respectfully, albeit hesitantly, dropped his hand and released Renei from his grasp.

The blond gazed down at her, (without heels, she was at least an inch or slightly more so shorter than him) before bowing respectfully. "I had heard today would be your first day attending Miyabigaoka." He peeked up at her with dazzling yellow eyes. "I hope you find the school to your liking, Renei-san."

Renei refused to believe that the sudden heat she felt in her face was a blush. "It's... Very nice, yes. The building itself is a marvel to behold." She admitted, while he straightened up again.

"If needed, I can escort you to your first class." Before she could deflect his offer, he added sweetly, smiling, "The situation is fairly convenient, since I am in the same classroom as well."

"Damn." Shin spoke up softly from the sidelines, and when all eyes landed on him, he elucidated. "I was hoping she'd be in the same class as me, so that's too bad..."

Tora acted as if he hadn't noticed the other young man until now, tilting an eyebrow in surprise. "Hn? Ah, hello Yoshikawa. That is a bit of a shame, I suppose. If only you were an earnest student who showed more dedication to their studies, then you'd be at the top of the class with us." He turned back to Renei with a curious look of interest. "You certainly make quick friends."

Renei blinked back as stoically as she could, while inwardly feeling flustered as she was quite literally caught between two strange boys ― neither of which she knew well enough to understand quite how to behave around them. And not only was she flustered, but annoyed _because_ they were driving her to feel flustered. "He is more of a... mutual acquaintance. My brother introduced us the other day, when Yoshikawa and his band were having a practice session at the apartment."

"Her brother is our manager. Renei will be seeing a lot of me now, due to that." Shin smirked triumphantly and moved to brush up against Renei's side, so that their shoulders bumped together in a friendly, far too casual sort of way. She tossed him a certain look in response, clenching out the words, "Wasn't it going to be Renei-san, for now?"

Golden eyes flashed while meeting a pair of gleaming obsidian, and Tora's smile was all sharp curves and white teeth. "Ah yes, that's right. You're in a band. What was the name of it again? I'm afraid it's not quite popular enough for me to remember."

Shin twitched noticeably, as if struck straight through by an arrow. His ego had a reputation for being his greatest weakness.

"Well then, I believe we should be getting to class now." Ignoring the frozen guitarist, Tora expectantly held out his hand to the young woman between them. "May I?"

Looking from one boy to the other, Renei wasn't sure if she should stay with Yoshikawa or go with Igarashi at this point. One of them was her brother's client, after all, and she wasn't sure if deserting him after the blow he'd just been delivered was a very polite thing to do (in fact, she was quite sure it wasn't). The other, however, was her fiancé, whom it was her mission to become well-acquainted with. And then there was the fact that he was offering to take her to class with him, and she surely wouldn't find it on her own before the bell rang.

Being a person of logic, she presumed that the smarter choice would be to go with Igarashi, lest she wanted to be marked as tardy on her first day of school. Besides, she could always make it up to Yoshikawa by buying him another box of chocolates.

Tossing one last glance at the pitiful looking red-head, Renei offered him a silent apology with her eyes before moving her hand up to accept Tora's gesture. "You may."

Tora took her hand into his own then, his fingers softly, perhaps suggestively sliding along hers while Shin watched, before latching on with a grip tighter than she felt was necessary.

xx

"Since we still have a few minutes left before class begins," Tora said as he walked Renei towards the classroom labeled as II ― A. "I'll personally introduce you to a few of our fellow classmates."

Before Renei could respond, he urged her forward into the room before them. He and his raven-haired companion, along with the two other student council members, followed her in after.

"Oooh, look what the cat dragged in!" A mocking, playful tone of voice was the first thing Renei was greeted with upon entering the room.

Glancing around, she took note of the fact that it wasn't full of too many students. There were a few in the back putting their things together, but five students in particular in the front of the class are who caught her attention.

Of the five in the group, two were girls. She assumed that the first voice to address her as she walked in belonged to one of them.

And what do you know, as soon as she thought that, the one with short, light hair hurried up to her with a sly grin and a slightly-above-average-sized... teddy bear... (city people were so strange) held tightly in her arms.

"Hm hm~, President, don't be rude, introduce us already!" The girl's eyes slid over Renei once before skipping over to Tora. Her eyes were as light as her hair color, framed by long lashes that fluttered a bit when she blinked. And she blinked often, because her gaze kept shooting back and forth between Tora and Renei, as if trying to make her own sense of the relation between the two of them.

Tora, his tone all business, began with the formal introductions. "This is Kaon Umekoji, the granddaughter of a famous national toy maker." He then gestured to a boy sitting up on the third row, who donned a striped beanie pulled so far down over his head that it covered up his eyes. "And her twin brother, Tomu Umekoji."

Though they were supposedly twins, Renei couldn't help but notice that the brother had black hair and the sister had blonde. Unable to help her bit of curiosity, she absentmindedly wondered which one had their's dyed. Probably the girl, she would guess.

"Hello." Renei waved, unsure if the boy was looking at her or not, but feeling the need to introduce herself anyway. "My name is Renei Nakajima. Nice to meet you both."

Before either twin formed a response, Tora cut in with more introductions. He gestured to another boy, sitting beside the one with the beanie. This guy had glasses and was typing away on a tablet; he looked rather tech-savvy. "That is their childhood friend, Ichitarou Tomikouji. He is the son of an IT company." The boy's glasses flashed as he looked up upon hearing his name. Renei stared back uncertainly, because, like the guy with the beanie, she couldn't tell where he was looking. At her? Past her? Should she start waving again?

"And lastly, down there," Tora pointed across the first row of desks, where a strikingly beautiful girl and some guy with perfectly styled hair stood around idly, staring over at her. For some reason, the guy breathlessly and excitedly mumbled over and over again 'raw diamond' as he was staring intensely at Renei (and it was a bit unsettling). "is Yi Hua Li, the only daughter of one of the richest families in Hong Kong. Beside her is her fiancé, the son of a C.E.O of a foreign capital bonds company, Tenryu Arashiyama."

"This is Miyabigaoka's Elite Group," He went on further to explain. "Consider yourself one of them now."

These city kids... Called themselves the 'Elite Group'? That seemed undesirably arrogant and ostentatious. "Ah-hm." Renei cleared her throat, holding in her negative opinions and judgments. It wasn't her place to comment on such things, after all. "Alright then. Thank you, I am truly honored."

"So, Renei-san, was it?" Kaon walked around her in circles, like an annoying insect buzzing around her head. Renei was starting to feel more and more discomforted by all the staring and attention directed at solely herself.

"What kinda business does your family run?" Her brother, Tomu, asked suddenly.

"Well," Keeping to a casual tone and a calm expression, Renei answered back. "My father is a plantation owner in the countryside, and my mother is the founder and C.E.O of Echo Entertainment here in the city."

Kaon stopped her circling just off to Renei's left. "A farm boy and a big-time music producer, no wonder your parents split apart!" She began giggling fiendishly, and her brother coughed out a bit of laughter as well, but Kaon seemed to stop and pout when she noticed Renei's lack of a response.

In fact, the taller girl did not look impressed, let alone irritated. She didn't even so much as blink.

And after a moment's pause with Kaon and her unseeing teddy bear (along with the rest of the Elite) staring at her in anticipation, Renei turned her gaze down and stated simply, "If you are looking for a more entertaining response out of me, you should have come to me five years ago when the divorce happened. The reactions are often better when all of the emotions surrounding the situation are fresh."

"What? Please, you can't seriously fake it so easily, that you're really okay is just a lie!" Kaon shook her head at her, eyes narrowed in disbelief.

One of Renei's eyebrows twitched. So, this girl was one of those types that purposely tried to stir up trouble? Well she wouldn't be stooping to her level, nor would she give her what she wanted.

"There isn't any use dwelling on the past. I can't go back and change things, can I?" When Kaon opened her mouth to probably say something catty again, Renei interrupted with a small, forced smile and polite words. "Sorry to ruin the fun for you, Kaon-san. I'm just not the type to partake in silly games like yours." She glanced over at a certain Igarashi boy, who was intently watching the scene play out before him. "In fact, I'm actually only here for one thing in particular."

Producing at first an incredulous gasp, Kaon then slowly and rigidly turned back to face Tora; and her expression was quite hilarious if he did say so himself. The younger Umekoji twin looked the perfect mixture of disappointed, confused, and irritated. Very, very irritated. And he enjoyed seeing her so frazzled, because, well, she could be pretty damn annoying at times, if not also useful because of that quality.

Seems she was proving to be rather useless now, though.

It was really quite fun to see that his fiancée was one to be so blunt and open about things... All the while hiding her true emotions behind a mask that did not yield. Not yet, at least. It would seem he had his work cut out for him.

He did nothing more than smirk at the upset Kaon, before returning his gaze back to Renei. "I do hope that you like it here with us, Nakajima. After all," Tora turned around mid-sentence and headed up the steps to where his usual seat was located. "You're in our care now, for this year and the next to come."

Renei watched him every step of the way, observing with great speculation. When he turned around and took his seat, crossing one leg over the other and tossing her a roguish, self-superior grin, she turned her nose up slightly and threw back a cloyingly sweet smile of her own.

"Then," She voiced, piecing the words together with a flawless sort of ease. "I ask you to please take good care of me."

Tora watched in interest and then amusement as the young woman made her way briskly up the steps and took a seat directly beside him. Still down at the front of the room, Kaon was now fussing over how long and stick-straight Renei's hair was, so boring and dull, while Tenryu argued that he'd never seen long hair that was kept in such a healthy condition; but most of their commentary was nothing but background noise to the pair sitting on the second row.

"Oh," The blond spoke in a whisper dark and deep, as he leaned over to answer Renei's last comment. "I plan to."

Though he made it sound like there would be nothing 'good' about it.


	5. Communication

A/N: Review and I'll send you a gift basket (in which Tora may or may not be hidden inside;)

Lol now I'm picturing those cereal boxes that say on the box 'free prize inside!' XD Now there's an idea... Let's stuff Tora in a cereal box, yeah? Heeheehee...

Hey, since Tora means 'tiger', would his favorite cereal be Kellogg's Frosted Flakes? The mascot _is_ a cartoon tiger, after all...

Oh this is downright ridiculous, now I'm picturing Tora dressed up as Tony the tiger and saying the slogan: "They're grrrrreat!" Someone, PLEASE put Tora in a Frosted Flakes commercial. I'm dead serious. I'll just die of laughter if I ever get to see that X'D

Well that got a little weird... Anyway, the point is to review please, my pretties~

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Five

Communication

...

Tora was about to step out the door when he sensed someone approaching him from behind.

He looked over his shoulder, words clipped. "What is it?"

The willowy figure of Aya Igarashi came to a halt a few paces away from her son, cool grey eyes regarding him cautiously. "I was just wondering about you, and I've been meaning to ask... Lately, how has school been?"

He cocked an eyebrow in a way that clearly showed she had never once asked him this before. "It's the same as it has ever been. I attend classes, socialize, and manage the student council."

"And?"

Tora lifted the other eyebrow. "And I'm afraid I will end up being late, thus blemishing my perfect record of attendance, if you do not get straight to the point here."

"Why do you assume there's a point?" His mother folded her arms delicately across her breast; she looked sharper than usual, he noticed, wearing an ivory suit jacket and matching wide-leg dress pants, with her blonde hair clipped up smartly. "Can't a mother check up on her son every once in a while?"

"I am well, and school is fine." He offered vaguely. "Now, if that is truly all you had to ask about, then I will take my leave. As should you, since you obviously have somewhere to be." With one hand, he gestured to her appearance.

Aya stepped closer, near enough to make him pull his hand back with the slightest jerk, before smoothly allowing the appendage to drop down to his side. "Show some respect, young man. I am your mother after all, and as such, I would like to think you've been taught better than to brush people aside when they're trying to have a conversa―"

"I'll act as I wish." Tora's smile was quick and pleasant on the surface with sharp edges beneath it. "Are you ever going to get to the point?" He stood there with a devil-may-care air about him, leaning into the open doorway with the morning light flooding in from behind; ironically creating an angelic aura around his tall, lean build.

A frustrated sigh passed through Aya's lips, her eyes contracting in that hawkish way they had about them. "Fine." She tapped one finger against her arm irritably. "It has been a few days. How is Renei faring at Miyabigaoka? Is she fitting in well? Are you helping her adjust? Are the two of you spending a lot of time together?"

"She is doing exceptionally well. She blended right in with the Elite, in fact, which I'm sure is news that pleases you." Tora tossed her a half-lidded glance that portrayed no more than a smidgen of the aggravation he was feeling. He had become quite practiced at concealing it, but sometimes, he would allow it to show ― like when he was trying to get people to take a hint. "May I leave now?"

"That's wonderful news!" Unsurprisingly, the woman lit up at hearing how perfect her hand-picked, future daughter-in-law was turning out to be. "I am indeed glad to hear that. And, as for the both of you, are you treating her well? Buying her lunch, helping her in class?"

"She does not need help in class. And as for lunch, we eat separately."

The light in his mother's eyes disappeared with a flicker. "Hmm, no, no, that just won't do..."

"We do not need to be joined at the hip, mother." One could practically hear the eye roll in his tone.

"At the very least, you should invite her to share a meal with you every so often. Show her some respect, and handle her like a proper lady. The two of you should be trying to spend some quality time together getting to know one another, learning to enjoy each other's company..." She took a deep, steadying breath, then added with an encouraging smile, "It is important to bond with the person you are eventually going to be married to. That sort of togetherness is a thing to cherish."

Tora wanted to jeer back at her with a comment about her relationship with his father, but he settled for a less personal route of taunting. There wasn't enough time for the former, at the moment. "She herself actually asked me to have lunch with her a few times, among other invitations," He paused to acquire a smirk. "However, I declined."

A storm immediately brewed, swift and unsettling, in Aya's expression, causing Tora's smirk to stretch further across his face. "And," She grit. "Why ever would you do that?"

"It is she who wants to be closer to me, not the other way around, if you'll recall. I simply did not feel up to humoring her silly whims... Perhaps I would, if she agreed to do something for me in return, but I get the feeling she's not that kind of girl." He gazed at his mother knowingly, tauntingly, because he knew that she knew exactly the thing he was referring to. He also knew that she was disgusted by his... 'unsanitary, reckless ways', as she liked to put it. Which is why he pushed the point even further. "But who knows? With a little effort, I could make her into that kind of girl. I do enjoy a challenge." Golden eyes sparkled with sinful intent, the curving of his lips suggesting pure mischief.

"Tora Igarashi." The woman seethed, nearing her limit with him.

"That is my name, try not to wear it out." He warned coolly.

"We have already explained the situation to you," Aya's voice grew sharp and insistent, something like a snap and a hiss combined while she turned to nagging him, "There is no getting out of it so you need to stop acting so insolent. You are not allowed to harm her in any way, or seduce her, or cause any other trouble of the like. Honestly son, how many times must you be reminded to behave yourself―"

"It would," Tora interrupted, turning to step out into the daylight. He really didn't care for her nagging. "do you some good, to remember that I never made any promises to behave."

There was no room left for further discussion as he ambled down into the front drive, leaving the door open behind him for his mother to stare blankly at his retreating figure until a servant passed by and offered to shut the door for her.

xx

It had almost been a full week since Renei's fresh start at her new school, and being the organized person that she is, she adapted to her surroundings quickly and had already developed a daily routine.

Every morning she made sure to get to the school early before classes started, in order to run at the track. Back in the countryside, she got lots of daily exercise from numerous things, be it horseback riding, bike riding, or hiking up the mountains. Plus her softball team held practice on certain days. She couldn't just stop that old routine once she came to live in the city, so naturally she picked it back up as soon as she could. There was a massive track at Miyabigaoka, to her delight; and even more convenient, they had shower rooms where she could freshen up afterward.

The shower rooms were something exquisite. Everything in them seemed to consist of a smooth white marble, and then there were the pristine tiled floors, golden faucets, and purple insignias embroidered or stamped onto things to show they were property of the school. Speaking of _things_ , there was a seemingly endless supply of toiletries, hair products, nail supplies, facial masks, brushes, combs, perfumes, the list goes on. In Renei's personal opinion, it was a bit excessive, and perhaps unnecessarily wasteful. Who even used all of that stuff? She surely didn't feel the need to.

Rubbing at a particular sore spot in one of her shoulders, the young woman walked out of one of the showers with steam billowing around her naked form. Despite knowing she was the only one in here this early, she was quick to conceal her body using a nearby towel and proceeded in making her way around the corner to face the endless rows of sinks and mirrors. And the passing thought caught up to her, as it always did around this time, that once she was done getting ready her daily schedule took her to homeroom. The class she shared with Tora, and those people known as Miyabigaoka's 'Elite Group'.

Renei gazed at her reflection while running a brush through her wet, tangled hair, and became lost in thought for a few moments. Being around a group of strangers was quite the change, but she was gradually growing more accustomed to them.

Kaon was a bother, she always sat on Renei's right, having perfect access for teasing and insults. Arashiyama had the tendency to stare openly at Renei for long periods of time, and she had found out that if you could get Tomikouji to stop using his tablet, he'd speak aloud at such an alarmingly fast rate that it was practically impossible to understand what he was saying. So far, Yi Hua and Tomu were the most normal and easy to get along with out of the group. By far the lesser of two evils when it came to the twins, Tomu kept to himself and listened to music more than attempted conversation, and sometimes he'd even try to make his sister back off a bit when she was getting out of hand (although that may be more for the sake of annoying his sister than helping out Renei). And Yi Hua, even though her good looks were her greatest vanity, seemed rather sympathetic towards Renei whenever Kaon was being especially terrible. Not that Renei couldn't handle it, and not that Yi Hua would ever get directly involved and risk putting herself in the line of fire.

As for Tora, he acted as though he didn't mind either way whether Kaon or anyone else bothered Renei, but she caught him smirking here and there, and she knew he encouraged it. Still, he was terribly good at playing innocent, minding his own business in the classroom and acting as the quintessential role model for all other students. Even though he sat on Renei's other side, he hardly ever interacted with her. Which kind of defeated her purpose behind having a seat beside him ― she had chosen to be close to him for a reason, seeing as they were engaged to be married, it was her mission to integrate herself into his life, to study him, and hopefully, eventually form a bond with him.

Hopefully. Eventually.

He made it all rather difficult for her, so, she had yet to get a real start on any of that.

Frowning slightly, Renei set down the brush and reached for a hair dryer. Tora Igarashi, from what she'd glanced on the surface, was the perfect ideal to live up to; anyone with eyes could see that. People his age both envied and admired him, parents wanted their kids to be like him, and even the teachers saw him as their favorite, even if they would never admit to it. And this all wasn't unwarranted attention, by any means. He worked diligently in class and he never wasted time, whether it was his own time or anyone else's. Renei respected that, because she was also keen on focusing on her studies. It was due to this that she didn't try conversing with him while class was in session, and for the most part, he practically ignored her.

It was before class started, or during breaks between classes, that Tora seemed to relax some and become more approachable, and that was when Renei would _try_ to initiate some sort of contact with him. The key word here being try, since he was often surrounded by admirers (practically the entire school faculty and its students, who liked to suck up to him big time whenever they'd get the chance). And whenever she did gain a moment to speak with him, she would ask him if they could walk together or sit and eat together, or study together, or just have a little chat, at the very least ― but each time he would have some excuse as to why he couldn't. Most of the time he blamed it on student council work, which she found believable because of the other student council members who would sometimes come running up to him with some sort of report... Miyabigaoka was an impressive school, after all, and it needed to stay in proper working order. However, there were also a lot of women she'd see the blond President speaking with, or walking around with in his free time, and that's when she started to get annoyed by his behavior.

She was his fiancée. He was engaged to her. They were together, basically. He knew that, right? Was that not their current situation? He acted like he didn't, like it wasn't.

"Ow!" Renei winced, realizing she'd accidentally left the hot air hovering over one particular spot on her head for too long. She turned off the dryer and shook out her hair, which was still mostly damp. Refocusing on the task at hand, she turned the device back on and spoke to her reflection sternly, "Pull yourself together, Renei. He's nothing you can't handle."

As of late, her thoughts were stuck revolving around Tora more than anything else. Not surprising, considering there was a lot on the line with this marriage deal, and he seemed less than enthusiastic about it. Like it or not, she needed things to work out with him. And it was so incredibly frustrating, to not be acknowledged by him, because some part of her knew that letting him continue to treat her and his relationship with her with such insignificance would mean certain defeat in the end.

Renei snorted to herself. Since when had she started referring to this ordeal as a war? Well, there _would_ be casualties if she lost…

In any case, it would seem that simply holding the title of Igarashi's future bride wasn't good enough, so how could she get closer to him? Going to the same school as him and being his classmate wasn't cutting it either, she needed to dig her way in deeper somehow… Was he in any clubs? Maybe she could join one he was in? Work her way up to a friendship with him by sharing a common interest? There's an idea.

Renei shook her hair out again, slamming the dryer down on the counter with a huff. No, no! She would not resort to weaseling her way into his life like all the others tried to do. She would not suck up to him, hang on his every word, or follow him around everywhere he went, joining the same clubs and playing up to his standards.

There would be no fitting herself into his mold, that just went against her sense of pride. Briefly, she recalled the intrigue in his eyes when he had asked her,

 _"Then exactly what mold should I fit you into?"_

For a few minutes, Renei just stood there and stared at the disgruntled expression she wore. Then, slowly, like a train growing closer through a dark tunnel, something lit up in her eyes.

Maybe appealing to his sense of intrigue was the key.

She bit her lip as she pulled her long hair back into its usual sleek, high ponytail. Now, if there was a way to get him interested in her… What would it be? Without having to change herself, what about her would gain the whole of his attention? What would get him to take her and their situation seriously?

There was no avoiding these worrying, curious thoughts. She wouldn't be able to continue on with her day if this was constantly bothering her, so something should be done. Today, she decided, she would finally pull Tora aside. She would not take no for an answer this time. That should get his attention, right? If she resorted to a little forcefulness? She could be forceful, when needed.

Surely he had dealt with girls who've been forceful with him before, and perhaps he was sick of it, or knew exactly how to brush those types off, but it was still worth a shot. Besides, Renei couldn't handle one more second of being brushed aside. She would prove her worth, one way or another.

And she would prove to him that they were a couple. _Even if_ they didn't know each other too well, they were, in fact, engaged to be married. At the very least, they should be able to discuss their relationship, right? Communication is key, after all ― and they could definitely learn to communicate better.

It was about time that they sat down together and had a heart-to-heart. If all went well, this would be a huge step in the right direction.

xx

Tora listened with bleeding ears to Kaon's giggled insults and sly remarks. Did she ever shut her mouth? Quite frankly, he was impressed that Renei still had the patience to deal with her. Most people he knew would have caved at this point.

Annoyed and bored, he stole a secretive glance over at his fiancée. She sat beside him as usual, back straight as a rod, right hand scribbling down notes. Sometimes, he liked to study her when she was too distracted to notice (he didn't want her reading into anything, or suspect anything). He didn't like her, but he was naturally curious about her.

 _Not to mention,_ He thought with a smirk. _She isn't unpleasant to look at._

Keeping to his still undiscovered task, Tora's eyes trailed from the face of steady concentration she wore down to her rapidly moving hand, watching the appendage scribble across the page in a hurry in order to catch up with the teacher's words. He then glanced at what she had written so far, and his gaze lingered for a moment on the elegant curves and smooth lines she left on paper. She had remarkable handwriting.

However, upon closer examination he noticed something more interesting than that.

Her writing hand had started to tremble.

It was then that Tora decided to tune back into whatever Kaon was saying. She seemed to be referring to Renei's parents again, specifically their divorce. Tora's smirk soured a bit. _This again?_ No matter how unfazed Renei appeared by discussing it day after day, Kaon was, for some reason, convinced that that was a definite sore spot for the new student.

Perhaps, though, he was simply not giving Kaon enough credit. If Renei's trembling hand was anything to go by.

"I bet your mother dumped your father because she had already found better men to keep her company." The blonde Umekoji was in the middle of saying. "So it's okay Renei-san, you probably don't need to worry about how she's been doing over the years, because I bet you anything that by now she's been with tons of richer, more attractive men ― she's working in the music industry, after all! But, tell me, does thinking about that upset your father? Having such a successful ex wife and all that… Hey, hasn't he gotten a new wife yet? Because really, what kind of man hasn't remarried at least once by now?"

Renei's free hand curled into a fist and her other hand ceased writing, gripping the pencil tight within its grasp. Her knuckles were a pale, ghostly white at this point.

"If he has remarried, then lucky you. I'm jealous~" Kaon pouted. "You get double or even triple the presents on your birthday and around the holidays! Divorce really isn't as bad as they say, is it? I never believed it was."

Tora's eyes roamed upwards to inspect the look on the brunette's face. Her mouth was twitching, as if she wanted to say something, but she quickly bit her lower lip to keep herself quiet. He wondered, could now be the time that she would finally reach her breaking point? She had preserved her patience so far, but, it _would_ be interesting to see her crack. He rather hoped she would have already, by now.

"I mean, I'm sure in the beginning it's hard and stuff. I can't even imagine how pathetic your father must have felt after being left behind. Does it ever disappoint you that he couldn't be enough of a man to keep a woman by his side? When you think about it, it's not really your mother's fault that the divorced happened, I mean, I'd say the blame's on him for not _trying_ harder. Women like to be fought for, it's a fact. So basically, he's the one who gave your mother a reason to leave, because he didn't give her a strong enough reason to stay. Make sense?"

Renei carefully set down her pencil. Probably so that she wouldn't accidentally snap it in half. Tora continued to watch her, eyes focused and waiting to see more of a reaction than that. Her ears were beginning to redden, but her face was like a stone, you couldn't tell what she was thinking. This only brought him to the edge of his seat all the more (figuratively speaking, that is. In the literal sense, he was leaning comfortably back in his seat pretending not to listen to the conversation).

Kaon seemed to be watching Renei just as intently, only she was more impatient than Tora and far less subtle. "What's the matter, Renei-san? Have you suddenly realized that I'm right? That your father is simply no good at all?" She ended her sentence with a confidant spark in her eyes and sly, gleaming smile on her face.

Renei payed no heed to the question and ― slowly, in a controlled and practiced manner ― swiveled around in her seat to address the other Umekoji twin seated a row above and behind them. "Tomu-kun," It was surprising to hear that her voice was its usual smooth, delicate timbre, and that it sounded every bit as calm and polite as it usually did. "Could you please try to gain some control over your sister for me? Her futile attempts at upsetting me are disrupting the lecture, and I need to take notes."

Both twins fell into a state of shock, Kaon looking frazzled and Tomu offering up a dumb look and a steady drone of "Uuhhhh…"

"Pffft!" Tora snickered quietly into the back of his hand, unable to help himself after such a display. Nakajima was tougher than she looked, that was for sure. It was a marvel, he thought, how she appeared to be a perfect lady but had such an indomitable spirit on the inside. He wished it would show itself more.

"H-hey!" Kaon suddenly squeaked, frustration settling into her gaze as she glared accusingly at Tora, and then at her brother, who had started to join Tora in laughing at his sister's expense.

Coolly ignoring the two boys, Renei turned back around in her seat and cocked an eyebrow at the other girl. "Kaon-san?" She questioned, as if Kaon was the one who had done something strange and unpredictable.

"You― Just what the hell is wrong with you?!" Kaon settled her glare on the stoic brunette now. "You're so weird and unresponsive! Don't you ever care about ANYTHING?!" She hissed, clearly annoyed that she didn't get to have any fun messing with the new kid. No matter how hard she tried, the taller girl never reacted dramatically to anything Kaon had to say.

Renei only stared blankly at her for a few seconds, before picking up her pencil again with a pretty smile. "Oh you know, I just don't like it when I can't take proper notes due to some unwanted distraction. The things you write down in class are what help you the most when studying for tests, so it's very important to me. I guess you could say that's one of the things I care about."

And with that, she went right back to work, with Tora watching all the while in rapt amusement, and Kaon puffing out her angry pink cheeks, pouting and hugging her teddy bear to herself, like nothing more than a petulant child.

xx

When lunch rolled around, Renei had gotten over the issue completely. Earlier, she had had every right to slap Kaon in the face, but she withheld the rising urge to do so and instead had kept her composure, thankfully. She would not start fights with people and soil her good reputation, or draw unwanted attention to herself. Furthermore, she wouldn't allow herself to be pushed around and played with so easily, Kaon could continue to harass her but that wouldn't stop Renei from doing her work. It wouldn't stop her from smiling, even if her smiles weren't 100% real, and it wouldn't make her eventually want to break down and spill all of her thoughts and emotions. She had more self control than that. Kaon had to realize that and stop harassing her at some point, right?

Now, onto other issues… Ones that she shouldn't be so passive with, since they were of the utmost importance.

Tora was already down the steps and walking towards the door. Today, there was someone waiting there for him, no girls this time, but instead a boy. The lengthy black hair could be easily recognized as belonging to a certain Kanade Maki, the Student Council Vice President. Renei had spoken with him very few times, and each time all they had said was hello and goodbye to each other, as he and Tora had some work to attend to without her. She watched them exchange a few words with one another, but Maki paused when he saw her approaching, and with his stare also came Tora's as he turned to look as well.

"I cannot have lunch with you today, Renei-sa―"

"I want five minutes of your time." She cut him off using a much crisper tone than the one she usually used with him. In fact, her words had come out sounding like a demand. _Good,_ she thought to herself. _That'll show him. Perhaps catch some of his intrigue, too._

Tora's indifference became marred for a split-second by his surprise, which was quickly covered up by a blinding smile. "Pardon?"

Renei faltered underneath the intensity of his gaze, and the friendliness of that grin. It was a strange combination. "I mean, well, I― I had already assumed you were busy, and would therefore give me the same answer as always. So all I want today is five minutes to speak with you. If we make it fast, I'm sure it won't disrupt your schedule too much?" She glanced over at Maki to confirm this.

Maki looked to Tora in uncertainty.

Tora craned his neck back to look out into the hallway, as if he were expecting some random student council member to pop out of nowhere and pull him away for work. However, no one came.

He raised a hand in a dismissive wave to Maki, then looked back at her. "I suppose five minutes isn't too much to ask."

Renei's lips curved upwards, though she tried not to look too triumphant. "Thank you. Well then, could we talk somewhere private?"

xx

The Student Council Room as a whole smelled of paperwork, drying ink, and pencil shavings, but when you walked into the President's personal office, there was the faintest, leftover scent of women's perfume mixed into the air as well.

Renei decided to ignore that for now, although it did make her skin itch just thinking about how many women her future husband had had in here before her. And what he might have done with them. Hopefully she wasn't correct in suspecting that he did _those_ sorts of things with the many different girls that she kept seeing in his company…

But one look at him told her that he probably did.

"Well," Tora pulled the door to his office closed behind the two of them with a delicate 'click'. "What is it that you'd like to discuss with me?"

He turned around to look at her with an elegant brow raised in question. Renei breathed out slowly and folded her hands in front of her lap in order to keep calm and focused. This was a very important matter, so she should just jump right into it. However, she wanted to word it perfectly.

"I would like to know what exactly you think about our engagement and our future together."

Tora stared at her for a moment, face neutral, too neutral to gauge a reaction from. After a few seconds of this, he smoothly walked past her over to his desk, where he turned and leaned back against it in a lazy, yet all too confident fashion. "I'd actually like to ask you some things as well. If you don't mind, how about we trade information?"

Renei turned to face him with confusion in her eyes. "Trade information?"

"We'll ask each other our separate questions, and I'll trade you my answers for yours in return. It's a simple process, however you don't get an answer from me until I've gotten one from you. That's how this will work."

"That just sounds like a silly made up rule to me." She pointed out.

He smiled, flashing his teeth, sharp canines glinting. "My office, my rules."

Renei gave him a peculiar look. "If you want to go back and forth asking questions, then this will probably take longer than five minutes."

"Fine by me. You don't have anywhere else to be, do you?"

"Well, no."

"Then it doesn't matter how long we stay in here for."

She opened her mouth to correct him, to say that yes, it mattered, because eventually they'd need to go back to class. But then she registered the suggestive note caught between his words, and she had every intention to ignore it. "Let's start then. What would you like to ask me?"

Tora readjusted, folding one arm over the other and leaning back a bit further. His eyes, which regarded her so intensely, looked guileful and rich; a lethal combination, it appeared. All of a sudden, she felt she should be wary. "How do you do it, Nakajima? You have such a pretty face, it makes me wonder if there's anything dark and ugly hidden behind it."

She tilted her head at his rather strange comment. "How do I... Do what, exactly?"

"How do you lie," His voice lowered so abruptly that it made her cringe. "With such perfect ease? You were upset earlier by what Kaon was saying about your parents, and yet you didn't let it show."

"I didn't say anything untruthful―"

"It's not about the words. You lie with your eyes, with your appearance." He smirked knowingly, as if he knew everything about the matter. But of course, she realized... He did know. He _must_ know. He knew exactly what he was talking about, because as the saying goes, it takes one to know one.

"And so do you." She quipped, tilting her chin up and trying to appear like she had just as much authority as he. "You lie with your whole being, in fact. You're practically a whole slew of lies personified, if I may be so bold to give my opinion."

"Oh really?" His tone was a warning, but his eyes spoke 'You may'.

"Yes, really." Renei decided it was fine to press on. "I can tell, because I witnessed it a lot in the past when we were younger. You would act so cordial towards me until I pushed you too far and then your true colors would show. So do not be so hypocritical as to accuse me like that."

"It wasn't an accusation, merely an observation."

"Funny, I didn't think you'd have to _time_ to be observing me, Igarashi, considering you're always so _busy_."

She noticed his eyes light up upon hearing her new tone, the way her words had become more… Biting. It was as if he was recognizing something, a challenge, maybe? "Is that disrespect I sense coming from _you_ of all people? Little miss perfect," He mused aloud. "Who never steps one foot out of line."

Renei inhaled slowly, trying to push down the random wave of emotion that had come out of nowhere just now. She didn't want to finally have the chance to speak with him, only for them to end up getting into an argument. Because she had held it in for so long, all of her frustration was bubbling to the surface now, at the worst time possible. She exhaled, calming her nerves enough to revert back to normal. "I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect, President." She bowed her head stiffly.

Tora made an unusual sound then, a low hum, almost like a purr. And the way his eyelids lowered and how he stared at her from beneath his lashes made her feel incredibly chilly and yet also feverish. It was an unwelcome feeling, since she didn't know how to handle it or where it was coming from.

"What?" She asked quietly. She never thought she'd lose her composure just by being stared at by him, but then, his eyes _had_ always been mesmerizing. Her stomach was feeling knotted, and if the air conditioning hadn't been turned on, she would probably be sweating as well. Just one look, one sound, that was all it took for him to make her start to feel nervous.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to appeal to his sense of intrigue, after all.

"I was thinking that I like the way that sounds, coming from your mouth. The other day when you came to my estate, that mouth of yours had spouted some very rude things to me when we were left alone, so it's nice to hear an apology coming from it." His tone was so soft, she wouldn't be surprised if his tongue were made of velvet.

Renei tried not to think about his tongue. She also tried to not let his words affect her. "Ah, I… I see." She swallowed something sharp, or at least, that's what it felt like. "Well anyway―"

"You seem uncomfortable." Tora smiled at her, but it was not a gesture that appeared in any way to be kind or gentle. "Perhaps you should sit down?" He patted the spot next to him on his desk.

"I'm just fine, but thank you for the concern." Renei inwardly reminded herself to keep it together and get back on the right track. "Shouldn't we get back to―"

"Are your knees feeling weak at all?" He pressed on, still smiling. It was as if he knew that he was throwing her off and was taking pleasure in doing so.

"What are you―"

"Do you need to step outside to… Cool off for a bit?"

"No―"

"Then why is your face so flushed?"

"It's not―"

"Oh," He chuckled in a dark, tantalizing way, and she instinctively took a step back. "But I can tell there's _something_ that's bothering you, Renei-san. Won't you tell me what it is, or allow me to comfort you in some way?"

It was then that he stood up straight, and made his way over to her. Tora stopped not more than a foot away, and since they were eye-level, the gold of his eyes filled her sight so completely that for one whole second it felt as though she were drowning in them. Unlike his voice, which could at times be deceptively soft, his eyes were intense and distracting in a harsh way. From afar they always appeared abstruse, but when you looked into them from this close up, you could tell how profound their depths truly were.

Gosh, he was in her head now, wasn't he? Why else would her brain be prattling on and on about his _eyes_ of all things?

The knot tightening inside of her stomach burst open and butterflies erupted from it when he took a step closer and allowed himself to, without asking, wrap both of his arms smoothly and snugly around her waist. Their bodies were pressed together by the act, and he smirked like a true devil when he heard the sharp intake of breath that escaped her.

"Is there something more you'd like to do with me than simply talk?" He leaned in, very predator-like with the way his canines were glinting. "I had thought you were more of a prude, but you're looking rather... Wanting, at the moment."

Renei's senses were alert to everything ― the warmth of his breath blowing across her ear and along her hairline, his long, strong arms giving her body a subtle squeeze and pulling her even closer to him. Her heart pounding an unsteady rhythm against her chest. The blood beginning to rush loudly inside of her head, thrumming through her veins like wildfire spreading rapidly.

 _What the heck_ is _this?_

This unknown, completely foreign collection of sensations left her feeling oddly overwhelmed. She had been close to other men before, not only her brothers but also a few acquaintances and even some suitors, but none of them, not a single one of them, were ever so forward with her. They never dared to be. They had never disrespected Renei in the way Tora was now, by disregarding her personal space with absolutely no shame at all.

And what did he just _say?_ That she looked wanting? Oh, what a terrible, frivolous lie! She knew that her defenses went up the moment he touched her, therefore, her face was a blank slate, devoid of emotion. As if she would let her guard down so easily, or cave in like all the other women did. No, that wasn't her. He was obviously trying to mess with her, trying to make her believe she was that type of woman, but just like with Kaon, she wouldn't break underneath the pressure.

Tearing away from him, she detached herself from the intimacy and spun around in a flash, willing her breaths to even out again and her heart to settle. "I must ask you to please refrain from getting that close to me without my permission ever again." Her words were short, clipped, and to the point. Her anger came through as well.

Tora laughed. Her ears perked at the sound, which was surprisingly dulcet and easygoing, given all his other devilish characteristics. "Well, since you said 'please'." His laughter ebbed away after another minute, and then she heard his footsteps retreating in the opposite direction. "It would seem that you can't take a joke, Nakajima."

"I did not come to you for jokes, Igarashi. Which reminds me, you have yet to answer my questions."

"And you've yet to answer mine."

Renei turned around, seeing now that he had plopped himself down on the nearby sofa. His legs were outstretched, resting comfortably atop the coffee table, and he reached over the rim of the sofa to grab an already opened can of green tea that sat on the surface of a small, circular table resting behind there. A rouge lipstick stain on the rim of the can caught her attention, and she fought to ignore it. She also fought to ignore how he didn't seem the slightest bit bothered about the fact that he was drinking from a beverage that someone else had obviously been drinking out of as well. Not only was it offensive, but it was also unsanitary!

"I'm not sure how to answer what you asked," She grit. "Because I don't believe that I lie to people."

"At most, you never portray the whole truth, which is equivalent to lying." He took a sip of the drink, closing his eyes to the taste. "Mm."

What was he, taunting her? "What makes you think that about me?"

"Not think, _know_. I know that you put up a façade in order to please people, so that you can fit in wherever you go and always be warmly welcomed. I know that you put on an act, and hide what you're really thinking and feeling. No one else notices because you cover it up with such ease, but _I_ do. You act perfect and conceal your flaws, but nobody can be perfect, because everyone has flaws. That is a matter of fact."

He glanced at her over the rim of his drink, and she stared back at him, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

Renei decided to try to draw the attention away from herself. "What are your flaws, then?"

The young man smirked, his eyes filling with that very same intrigue she had recalled earlier. "That's precisely what I've been hoping to find out about you."

"Good luck with investigating that on your own. I prefer my privacy, you see."

"I'll take that as a challenge."

"Oh will you?" She sounded lightly amused, and disbelieving. Renei was far too sure of her ability to keep her own secrets, and due to that, she wasn't worried about him discovering anything she didn't want him to know.

"I will." Tora murmured, his eyes darkening several degrees. Then, he finished off the last of his tea, and when she saw his face again, a kindly smile was plastered on, as if the look he was giving her just a moment before had never even existed. "Now, what was it again that you wanted to ask of me?"

 _Finally,_ Renei thought with great relief. That was the whole point of this conversation in the first place, so it was nice to be making some headway now. "I expect you'll answer me as honestly as you can?"

"I won't lie unless I feel you've gone too far, if that's what you're asking. It all depends on the questions."

She nodded. "That's… Understandable. Well, let's start with the basics. I'd like for you to tell me where you stand on the whole idea of marriage."

During the pause that followed, Tora cocked an eyebrow. "And second of all?"

"I'll get to that once you answer the first question."

He sighed, leaning back and studying her, as if trying to guess at her response to what he was about to say. "I'm opposed to it."

Renei wasn't all that surprised, but still, she pressed for more information. "So you're against being engaged to me, and eventually having to marry me?"

"If it makes you feel any better, it's not you specifically that's the problem." He examined the canned beverage in his hand as if noticing the lipstick mark on it for the first time. "I'm a misogamist, so I'd be against marrying anyone, not just you."

"I... I'm not sure that I understand." True, she did look utterly baffled by the news, when he glanced back up at her.

"A misogamist is someone who―"

"I know what a misogamist is," She sharply interjected, and he smirked. "What I don't understand is why you agreed to our engagement, if you never want to be married." Her eyes narrowed. "One should never agree to something unless they are fully willing to see it through to the end."

He simply offered up a shrug. "I agree."

Something seemed to click inside her brain then. "Did your parents force you into it?" It wasn't all that shocking, since she was in the very same boat, but Tora didn't seem like the type to listen to and obey his parents.

"Unfortunately," He sighed irritably, waving one of his hands about boredly as he went on to explain, "They need me to eventually have an heir, and I can't just go and get any girl pregnant. Unless she was my wife, it would turn into a scandal, and scandals aren't good for business. You see, families like mine, which are so high up in rank and worked so hard to get there, are desperate to cling to their higher ground."

Somewhere in the middle of his explanation, Renei had begun pacing around the room. She stopped abruptly when he finished, and balled her hands into tight fists. From where he sat across the room, Tora could still hear the deep breath she had to take. Then, before she could even let the air back out, she began pacing again.

"I wasn't expecting this… To be so problematic. For both of us. Now, I don't want to seem insensitive to your situation, but it isn't exactly ideal if you want nothing to do with the marriage, so― Oh, this is such a mess! What are you going to do? What am _I_ going to do… I can't very well call off the engagement, but then, you'd just try to force my hand… Of course you would, and you would continue with all your other habits…"

"You know," Tora mentioned casually as he watched her. "In my mind, I imagined you'd be more angry with me, rather than the situation as a whole. Can't say I expected you to sympathize ― _woman,_ would you stop with the incessant pacing? It's distracting, and annoying as hell." He stood and waltzed over to her, grabbing her arm and successfully pulling her to a halt, mid-step.

Distracted indigo eyes met frustrated gold, and it only took him a few seconds to notice that something else was bothering her, too.

With newfound curiosity, he asked her. "What was the second of all?"

Renei paused to look at him, then she grabbed the empty can he had forgotten was still in his free hand. "Like it or not, you and I _are_ engaged to be married. We've both entered into that commitment, willingly or not, and there are certain rules that come with commitments. Which you obviously have a clear disregard for." She turned the can around, showcasing the lipstick print. "Tora-san," She fixed him with a powerful glare. "You have been cheating on your fiancée."

Tora's lip curled up a bit, and he simpered, "Judging me, are you?"

"It wasn't a judgment, merely an observation." She mimicked him from earlier.

His smirk appeared in full, accompanied by a wicked light shining in his eyes. "I should shut that smart mouth of yours this instant." He all but growled, threateningly and… hopefully.

She managed a little smirk of her own, which wasn't very lady like, but that hardly mattered at this point. "I think I'll pass on that. Who knows how many women's throats you've shoved your tongue down? I wouldn't want your filthy mouth on mine even if you paid me."

Renei wasn't quick to anger, by any means. She wasn't easily offended, either. But when it came to things she cared about, her emotions tended to start to overrule her logic. She could get overly passionate about matters she found important, and this was one of those matters.

There are certain rules that come with being promised to a person; the laws of being engaged, of being married. Flirting with others is an offense. Cheating is immoral. And above all else, adultery is the worst.

These sort of things, they tear relationships apart. They hurt people. She had witnessed first-hand what it had done to her father... He had never been the same since the divorce. His eyes held the permanent look of someone who had been betrayed. What were once lovely azure irises, were now dark, hollow depths that showed pain-filled memories in just one glance. He tried to hide it with a smile, but his smile seemed broken now too.

Because of seeing what it did to her father, Renei couldn't stand the entire concept of betrayal. It was thoroughly wrong and it sickened her, and so her morals were as such: When you make a promise, you keep it, you stick to it and follow it all the way through to the end. When you enter into a commitment or a deal of any kind, you _commit_ to it, you _deal_ with it properly, even if you're not too happy about it. You always stay true to your word. Those were the values she lived by, and expected others to live up to. And she wouldn't be settling for anything less than that.

Which was why Shin's words had haunted her from day one.

 _"I never thought that guy would end up getting engaged._

 _He's not the type."_

She refused to let that be the case.

 _"To be stuck in a halfhearted relationship like that..."_

It wasn't even so much as a halfhearted relationship ― neither one of them had _any_ heart to put into it. But that was besides the point; Renei wasn't doing this for herself. And even though she sympathized with Tora, she was still going to join in with his parents and force him to follow through anyway. Even if that made her no better than her mother… For the sake of those she cared about, she had to…

When the usually calm, collected young woman snapped at him so suddenly, Tora had reeled back a bit in shock. Well, now, that was certainly… Unexpected. Not that he'd never had women lash out at him with sour insults before, but, for Nakajima to do so… Especially when they hadn't been intimate ― really, they hardly even had a relationship to begin with… Just why was she so upset about it?

Her reasoning for this behavior aside, he found he was a bit thrilled by it. He liked seeing different sides to people, and he liked even more to be the only one who brought them out. If he taunted this woman enough, he mused, she'd gradually turn into a feisty thing to play around with rather than a boring goody-two-shoes. He rather liked the change. To see her fight back, and how brilliantly snappish she could be when she allowed her perfect mask to slip. Like before, on the night she came to have dinner with him and his family, they were playing off of one another's wit and sarcasm. And it was far from boring, for once. A pleasant change of pace.

"Tsk, tsk, Renei-san." He mockingly lifted a hand and caressed the side of her cheek with a finger, like a lover would, which made the gesture even more ironic since they weren't even friends, let alone lovers. "Are you so sure about that? Because... I _could_ pay you, you know." He leaned in close, pressing his lips to the shell of her ear, which was heating up rather nicely beneath such a simple touch. "Any amount you wished for, I could hand you the money right here and now. I would give you anything you liked, if you'd only cooperate."

"I am not one of your quick lays." Her voice was low, but calm as she stepped away. "Do not treat me as such."

Tora straightened up to meet her eyes. It was like looking at a starless night sky, and the angrier she became, the darker and deeper they looked. He chuckled, the sound smooth and rich, like he was melting chocolate inside his mouth. "You hardly know me, and yet, you seem to be so convinced that I have that type of history with women. What, are you stalking me? Or do you love spreading rumors?"

"It's not as though you try to hide it, or deny it."

"What would I have to say? My business is mine alone. Also, no one has ever seen me do anything. You have no proof, so don't draw such unsavory conclusions." He smirked wryly.

Renei had a peculiar thought pop into her head then. "Are you trying to protect me?" She asked confusedly. "From the harsh truths about you?"

"Perhaps," He reached out, pulled her hair forward over her shoulder, and ran his fingers through the length of it; enjoying the silken feel of each strand. "I wouldn't want you to die of a broken heart, because then I'd feel just… Awful." He met her eyes again, mocking laughter shining in his own.

She reached up and grabbed a hold of the hand running through her hair, roughly. Rough enough to make him blink. "Forget I asked. And don't flatter yourself, even as a joke. It was never my plan to fall in love with you, and in order to break a heart, you have to have a grip on it in the first place." She dropped his hand like a hot potato.

His canine stood out when he spoke, softly, like velvet again, "Renei-san, figuratively speaking, let's say I have been cheating on you this whole time. In fact, let's say I've also used countless women before you ever came along. Wouldn't such a reputation bother you?"

It was her turn to blink when she realized the soft tone he was using meant he was being serious. "Bother me? It does more than that, it insults me. Your selfish lack of respect for others is something I find highly repulsive, because it goes against my principles. And as much as I'd like to think you have the same moral code as I do, you obviously don't, I'm truly learning of that through first-hand experience today."

By now, his face had turned serious, too. "Then I suggest we call off the engagement."

Renei shot out before she could stop herself, "Absolutely not!"

"Why? Are you somehow _happy_ with our situation? You don't know me, and what you do understand of me now, you despise. Why not just call it off?"

"I won't do that."

Tora's eyes narrowed coldly, and again he asked. "Why not?"

"Why are you suddenly needing to know my reasoning? You've breached my privacy enough already as it is." She muttered, deciding to finally yank her arm free from the hold he'd had on it all this time. However, it wasn't free for more than three seconds before Tora held it in a tight grip once more.

"I want to know," He rumbled, eyes flashing. "So tell me."

She scoffed, but her eyes flittered about thoughtfully. "...If I tell you, will you let go of me?"

"I might."

Silence fell over the two as Renei adjusted her stance, trying to show him that his intimidation wasn't working on her. "Hmph." She rattled out a breath, feeling annoyed, angry, and several other things all at once. _Cool down a bit,_ she would remind herself, but then his grasp on her arm would become even tighter and it distracted and irked her beyond belief.

"Well?" He prodded her again.

"If there is one thing you need to understand about me, Igarashi, it's that I don't believe in love." She looked at him, eyes as honest as they had ever been. "I never wanted your affections, only your loyalty."

He stared at her quizzically, and relinquished his grip on her arm at once. Taking a step back, the blond studied her, golden eyes searching her physical form for the answers only her mind could provide him with. "And just what, exactly, were you hoping to get out of our marriage?" He finally asked.

Renei took a moment to rub the pain out of her sore arm before forming a response. "I want stability and security, something safe."

Tora snorted and waved a hand in the air. "You could find numerous other men who can give you that."

"All the other candidates fell short."

This caught his attention. "And what makes me different from the others?"

"You'll never fall in love with me. They all did, on some level. And not only did that make me feel guilty, because I am incapable of returning such feelings, but it also meant the possibility of a marriage with them was no longer stable. Because love is a very _un_ stable concept."

"You're going about this rather logically." He commented, bemused by her reasoning; and not fully believing it as the truth yet, either.

"I go about everything logically." She admitted. "I can't stand the chance of risk. I like to calculate everything beforehand, see what makes the most sense. And you and I, together. That's what makes the most sense. Which is why I am not going to break off our engagement."

Golden eyes seemed to darken and flash at her all at once. "Ah, you've astonished me with how selfish you can be. What I'm hearing is, even if I am against the idea, you are going to marry me because I am your safest bet. You're..." He found the idea laughable, but it was what she was basically admitting to. "Using me."

"It's nothing you aren't doing as well. Even if it's under your parent's influence, you only need me around in order to have children without causing a scandal."

"So then, is that how our marriage is supposed to turn out? Years and years of the both of us using each other like pawns." He spit out the words like they had left behind a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Well," Renei sighed. "It would be nice if I could have your respect."

"I'm not going to stop enjoying myself with other women for your sake."

"I would give you my loyalty in return for yours―"

"I never said I wanted that." Tora drawled, starting to walk in a lazy circle around her.

"Then what is it that you want?" She asked, further exasperated by the circling. "In order for this to work out favorably for both of us, we should know each other's wants and needs."

"I want to have a _choice_ , Nakajima." He faced her, eyes ablaze in harsh, carefully withheld rage that came from seemingly nowhere. "I want to call off the engagement entirely. I want to choose to not be caught up in any sort of long-term relationship at all."

Renei's eyes blazed just as bright, with her own personal vexations. "I can't give you that."

"And I can't give you my loyalty." He spun back around, returning to his lazy walk around the room. "Face the facts, we both want different things, and both of us are too stubborn and too selfish to give in to the other's wishes."

"Perhaps if we worked together on―"

"My, my," He groaned, turning around to face her again. He looked just as exasperated as she felt. "You are more of a naïve woman than what I first took you for. People can't change basic aspects of their character ― they can't change _who_ they are. Especially," His eyes narrowed. "If they don't want to."

"Change is the way of the world." Renei countered wisely. "I've changed a lot from when we were kids, and based off of that knowledge, I believe that anyone else can change too, at any given time."

Tora was regarding her carefully, taking his time to process her words. "Your parent's divorce really had quite the impact on you, if I'm correct in assuming that that is how you came to change so much."

For a beat, the young woman fell quiet. And then, "Yes. I learned a lot from what happened, and _who_ I am changed because of it." She looked at him pointedly when she said that.

"What are you thinking then?" He inclined his head in a short nod towards her and lifted a doubtful eyebrow. "How are you going to change me, hn? No one else has ever managed to. I don't follow other's rules, I make up my own. So how, pray tell, are you planning on turning that around to your favor?"

He wasn't surprised that she looked a bit lost for a moment. "I suppose that, until I can figure out a new plan, I'll simply stick to the original plan."

"Which is?"

"Tora-san..." Renei walked up to him, her gaze earnest, and her resolve obviously unbreakable. "Understand that I am here of my own volition, because I want more than anything for our relationship to work out, and I know that being closer to you will make that easier on _both_ of us. Also understand that it is not in my plan to fall in love with you, but it is my plan to at least become friends. I'd rather we not hate each other, if we're going to be together." She looked away from him for a moment, ready to get the main point across and hoping he'd at least consider it. "If you... Can understand all of this about me, then... I will try to understand you as well. Is that something we can agree upon, at least for now? An understanding?"

Tora nearly balked. How… Out of the ordinary this woman was proving to be. "An understanding, you say? We will never be able to see eye to eye. Not when I'm against our engagement, while you want to sustain it."

Renei looked at him, for one unnaturally long moment, she just looked right at him, gauging his reaction to her proposition and lost in her own thoughts. And then she smiled, as if accepting his words for what they were ― the truth.

"Alright then, I won't try to understand your principles, and you don't have to try to understand mine. For the time being, I can't force you to change your entire lifestyle for me anymore than you can force me to change mine for you." Her smile faded away. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stand idly by and allow myself to be cast aside. I moved here to work towards our future gradually, starting with forming a bond with you; and I'm going to try my best to make it work someway, somehow. No matter what, I intend to follow through with my plans."

Tora openly stared at her, eyes widened in genuine perplexity, and just a touch of awe. Her determination was made clear enough by now, and it was quite impressive, almost intimidating. At the same time, the way she was challenging him, was a thrill in and of itself. When she looked at him with those sharp, mysterious dark eyes, it made him want her to stick around for a while longer.

He smirked. He never would've thought that the annoying girl from his past would turn out to be this intriguing. "In your desperate attempts to change me, you might end up changing yourself instead." He was the one offering a challenge of his own now, gold eyes gleaming. "I predict that I'll change you to my liking before you ever manage to change me to yours."

"I will make sure our relationship turns out for the best in the end. But I can assure you right now that I will not change myself to suit your tastes in order to make that happen." Her eyes were shining too, accepting his challenge.

Tora moved until he was hovering intimately in her space again. "Nakajima," He purred. "You should know that, in order to bend others to your will, you have to do a whole lot more than just sound convincing." He placed a strong hand at the small of her back and leaned over her body, just enough so that her sense of balance was now in his hands, and if he removed his hand, she might fall. "Believe me, I know a thing or two about _bending_ people."

Renei cocked an eyebrow at him, and said silkily, copying his tone of voice in a mocking fashion, "Specifically women, I presume?"

All he did was grin roguishly at her, because he didn't need to say a word. His eyes betrayed him, for once not full of lies. He was allowing her to see behind his mask in order to understand his intentions, that he had plans of his own he intended to follow through with, just like her. He was giving her fair warning. After all, she had already lifted her mask and showed him some of her truth, and if this were a game, then he had to even the score now, yes?

"Do you think the bell signaling the end of lunch is going to ring any time soon?" She asked suddenly in a quieter, more conversational way. Apparently, neither she nor he found it strange that he was still bending over her, pressing their bodies close together. Perhaps they were both waiting to see what move the other would try to make. Well, Renei couldn't move much without risking falling over and having him topple onto her, anyway.

"We have about fifteen more minutes until then, I'm guessing." He replied, just as casually.

"Then, would you finally accept my invitation to lunch?"

Tora let out a sharp, single note of what might have been laughter, had he let it flow more freely. But his chest seemed tight and uncomfortable against hers, the moment before he pulled them both up straight again and stepped away with a sneer. "You are truly a relentless woman."


	6. Bark and Bite

A/N: Wondering if I'm introducing too many new characters in a row, too soon into the story... also, I'm in a chipper mood, so the next update is only a day away, maybe not even that ;) I'm already a third of the way done with the next chapter. But then there's editing. And re-reading it before I post it to double-check for mistakes. In the end though, I really might just end up flopping upside down on my bed and contemplating the meaning of the universe for a solid hour before getting any work done c:

Hey btw your supportive commentary and clever input makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, like the long hours of writing are totally worth it, so thank you very much! XD

CK:*

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Chapter Six

Bark and Bite

...

The following day, Renei kept a much closer eye on her fiancé than usual. Granted, she couldn't follow him everywhere he went (and she would certainly not stoop so low as to become like a stalker) but she kept tabs on him to the best of her ability.

She sighed, tapping her pen on the edge of her binder as she leaned against a wall, watching him from afar. It was lunch break and, as she always did, she was going to go ask him to join her. However...someone else had gotten to him before she could make her move.

The handsome blond, with Maki standing patiently by his side, was caught up in conversation with Sanyu Rulin, an exchange student and the daughter of a Russian oil tycoon (Renei was good at memorizing names and faces – she knew many of the people in school already, not personally, just by name and status alone). Sanyu's frame was very slight, much like Kaon's or Nao's, and her hair was styled in the type of full, luscious curls Renei's flat hair could never achieve. Her eyes were slanted, cat-like, and a fluorescent aqua color, her face was all harsh angles, and her curly hair was the color of caramel. She was... stunning, really.

Another fact about this Sanyu character was that she hogged Tora all to herself whenever possible. Out of all the other women around him, this one was definitely the biggest 'threat' Renei had come across. She was equal parts pretty, and persistent – this was definitely not the first time Renei had seen her around Tora at school.

So caught up in her thoughts was she while staring at the tiny and gorgeous foreign student, that Renei nearly jumped out of her skin once she blinked, realizing there was someone standing right in front of her.

"Sorry to have startled you, Nakajima-san." Maki had materialized a few steps away, moving so that he conveniently blocked out her view of Tora and Sanyu. "Could I have a moment to speak with you?"

"Vice President Maki." Renei straightened up against the wall, trying to make the action look as casual as possible. The tapping rhythm of her pen slowed, but never came to a complete stop against the binder. "May I ask what this is about?"

"The President sent me over here to ask if you needed something. You seem to have been waiting to speak with one of us for a while now."

She smiled sweetly at him, but Maki noted that it was a bit forced. "You're right," Renei admitted, to his surprise. He had assumed she would deny it, in order to avoid embarrassment, because she had obviously been watching them. "I just didn't want to be rude and interrupt his conversation. I wanted to ask Tora-san if he would join me for lunch, so if you wouldn't mind bringing him to me, that would be great." Her smile stretched a bit more, attempting to reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry to say that your invitation will have to be declined. The President will be spending his lunch period with Rulin-san today." Maki gave her his most apologetic of looks, but it didn't do him any good. He had hardly finished his sentence before Renei brought her pen tapping to an abrupt halt and pinned him with a stare that clearly spelled out her dissatisfaction.

"Are you saying that it's more important for him to spend his free time with that girl over there –" She pointed her pen towards Sanyu, in the most polite manner she could manage, given her growing irritation. "than with me? I'm sure you must already know this, but he and I are engaged to be married. I should think that that holds some sort of meaning behind it."

"You are twisting my words around," Maki remained unfazed. He was nothing if not professional, and a large part of that meant being prepared to handle any situation, complaints especially. "Of course you are not of any less importance. Perhaps tomorrow–"

"I've been denied time and time again, and yet, other women are not being denied. Would you mind explaining to me how that somehow means that I am not less important than the others?"

"Nakajima-san, I thought you said not more than a moment ago that you didn't want to be rude and interrupt them." He smiled benignly at her. "Would you really like to go against your word and disturb them? If that is your choice, then I will respectfully step back and let you do as you wish."

Renei quirked an eyebrow, mouth open to argue more with him, but the words caught on her tongue and refused to budge. He did have a point there. She had her values to consider... Although, at the same time, she was aware of the fact that she was being played. And he was playing her with such ease, too, as if she were an instrument and he the musician. This was the longest conversation she and the Vice President had ever had together, and before now, Renei had not known much about what he was like. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised to learn that someone so close in rank to Tora was skilled in the art of persuasion.

He was right in assuming that bringing up her moral code would keep her from bothering Igarashi and his... female companion for the day. However, he was wrong in assuming that she would leave _him_ alone. "Maki-san, I've had a sudden change of mind. I would actually like to talk with you instead, since you're _obviously_ free." She lowered her eyebrow and leaned comfortably back into the wall again, returning his perfectly well-meaning smile.

Maki appeared visibly uncomfortable for a second or two, shifting his feet as he was uncertain of what would come from him being alone with her for an extended period of time. But, he knew that it would be best to direct her attention away from Tora, like he had been asked to do.

Renei looked at him expectantly, her saccharine grin contrasting with her sharp, clever eyes. "We can speak in the library, it's peaceful there so we won't be disturbed. Shall we get going?" It might not be what she had been hoping for, though she wouldn't complain any further. Instead, she would take this opportunity to ease some valuable information out of someone who seemed to know Tora on an up-close-and-personal basis.

The Vice President glanced over his shoulder at Igarashi, who was for a brief moment staring over at the two of them, golden brow arched in question as to what exactly was taking so long. They held each other's gazes for a moment, before Maki heard Renei ask him if he was coming or not, and he had no choice but to sigh and look away. Given the current circumstances, he'd have to resign himself to going along with her whims. And he was sure that afterwards, Tora would be waiting for him, wanting to know the meaning behind whatever was going on.

A shame that Tora didn't want her, Maki mused as he followed after the girl who had manipulated him right back, in response to his manipulation of her. Personally, he thought the two of them would make quite the pair – in another life, under different circumstances, they would certainly be placed together as partners in crime. The idea of it seemed so very fitting.

xx

Tora did not go to Maki for his answers as expected. Instead, he chose to seek out and question Renei, perhaps put a stop to her intrusiveness once and for all. The woman had been acting like such a nuisance, always chomping at the bit to spend some time with him. It was truly... one of the most aggravating things he'd come to experience from a woman. She, honest to her promises, would not leave him the hell alone no matter how much he denied her. He supposed their relationship hadn't changed much from when they were children, in that regard.

He was waiting for them both outside the library, having gone there after Maki sent him a message saying that was where they had been headed. He took his time getting there, finishing up his flirtations with the Rulin girl (a special – friend – of his) before making his way there. He figured he had time to spare; most of his work today had been dealt with already, he had gotten a head start. Also, the break would last for another twenty-five minutes or so.

Why wait outside the library though, was something he asked himself when no one exited the tall doors after around a few minutes of waiting. He didn't much like waiting, unless there was a good enough reason to be patient.

He opened one of the doors and entered the massive room, which was more or less empty, save for a study group collected in the corner. Everyone was normally eating in the gardens or cafeterias at this time. He moved as fluid as water throughout the room, soundlessly stepping across the black hardwood flooring, passing through rows upon rows of tall shelves lined with endless assortments of books.

Since he knew every square inch of Miyabigaoka, he was never one to get lost, not even within this maze of knowledge. Therefore, he tracked his fiancée and the Vice President down with relative ease, simply following the hushed tones of their conversation once he had neared the back of the room.

Silent as the grave, Tora stood directly behind the shelf that Renei was currently leaning against, deciding that eavesdropping was the best way to pass the time while waiting for them to finish up whatever it was they were in the middle of.

"What I'm hearing is that you do not want him interacting with other women anymore." Maki observed, arms folded in a way that said he either couldn't do anything about the matter or was trying to be patient with the woman in front of him, most likely both.

"I am not saying he should stop all interactions with all women, that would be an absurd thing to ask for. I only mean the interactions that put our relationship in jeopardy should be put to an end. I do not take lightly to him disrespecting me and our engagement, after all, no sane person would. And what's more, disregarding my feelings on the matter, womanizing is already a bad habit to begin with, wouldn't you agree?"

Maki side-stepped the question. "I know this may be out of line for me to say, but his habits do not concern you, despite the fact that you are to be married to him someday."

Renei's tone became cool and mild. "And why's that?"

"You seem to be a woman of high standards, Nakajima-san. I would expect, due to that fact, that you understand that privacy, along with the freedom that we all have to make our own choices in life, are also two things deserving of respect... regardless of how you are connected to a person."

She went quiet for but a moment, taking his words into account.

"This whole time, Vice President, I've gotten the feeling that you've been off-handedly trying to justify his actions."

For his part, Maki tried to seem surprised (Tora felt that perhaps he should have his friend take up acting lessons, for he was not nearly as good at feigning emotions as he could be). "Why would I do such a thing?"

"Well, I suspect you're close friends with Tora-san." Renei slowly walked up to the young man, shaking her head at his blank expression. "Probably his only friend. And that's because he trusts you, and in order for someone as guarded as Tora Igarashi to trust anyone, he has to be shown proof first. So you never turn your back on him, and you always are a constant source of support _even if_ his principles are screwed up, am I correct in assuming all of that?"

The two were only a foot apart now, and Maki had undergone a change in the short time it took for her to close the distance between them. It no longer looked like he was acting when it came to his surprise, it appeared her approach had unsettled him.

Her purposefulness, along with her intimidation skills, Maki likened to that of Tora's. Although, Tora would make it all seem, much more effortless. Renei Nakajima was trying too hard to be something that she wasn't – a threat. Meanwhile, Tora _was_ threatening, and often times the very personification of diabolical. Sure, Maki felt a little intimidated and also impressed by Renei's tenacity, but she didn't give off the vibe that could bring even the most powerful of men into a fully-blown panic, like Tora did. She cared too much about proper social conduct for that to be possible. Her standards were too polite for her to try to seriously threaten others.

Having taken his silence as a yes, Renei skipped over to her next question. "What can I do to get him to date only me instead of all those other girls?"

"He wouldn't agree to such a thing." There was a pause somewhere in his words, and Renei sensed him hesitating to say more.

"I'm already aware of that, but is there any way to convince him?"

"I don't think you are going to like what I have to say..."

"Regardless, I'd like to know."

He still paused, giving himself time to word things properly. This woman was important, after all, he couldn't very well throw caution to the wind and say whatever he liked without first filtering it. Filtering was yet another thing that Maki was well-practiced at. "If you promised to go along with all of his... personal needs... there is a possibility that he would consider making a deal to be exclusive with you."

"Maki-san." Renei's tone had lowered, and she appeared to have lost the last traces of her lightheartedness. She groaned, "Please tell me that you are joking."

"If I were, I'd have a rather sick sense of humor."

"Which wouldn't surprise me, given how much time you spend around Igarashi." Arms folded, face screwed into a look of concentration, she had begun to pace the isle. It was what she did when she was feeling stressed out, or didn't know what to do. "Well then... Well, then..."

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you so determined to win him over? Do you love him already?"

Renei abruptly stopped and noticeably tensed.

Close by, Tora smirked and withheld a bout of laughter. Maki was... as tactless as ever.

She turned to face the Vice President, shock apparent on her features. Her jaw couldn't seem to keep itself in place anymore, so as a result she was staring at him, open-mouthed, simply gaping. " _Love?_ " She managed to utter out the word, and then a few more. " _Him?_ To assume such a thing is so incredibly... _incorrect_ , because I can say with the utmost sincerity that I do not intend to ever be affectionate with him in any way, shape, or form. At the very most, we could be friends, but anything surpassing that is unthinkable."

Maki's face now contained a subtle mix of curiosity and confusion. "Then why even try?"

"For me, the concept of love is neither here nor there. After all, there are better, more logically sound things to try to get out of relationships other than romance. Like stability, and homage, for example. I don't want to win his heart, I just want for us to respect one another, and eventually fall into a stable marriage together."

Kanade Maki rarely smirked, if ever, but her words almost drew one from him. Tora could tell by the twitch of his mouth.

The raven-haired young man was amused by her words, and his amusement was hinted in the look that he gave her right then (although it was more of a bitter kind of amusement, than anything). Earning something as extraordinary as Tora's respect was not something that could be taken lightly. Did she even know what she was saying? And on top of that, stability? Despite being financially blessed and publicly admired, Tora did not have a single stable _personal_ relationship, outside of his friendship with Maki. And that was what this was all about for Renei in the first place, developing a personal relationship with her fiancé. "Not to offend you, Nakajima-san, but I don't think you will get what you want from him." He sounded almost sorry for her, feeling that her wishes were misplaced.

She folded her arms and frowned – the perfect picture of displeasure. "I will get what I want, Maki-san. It might take some time... but you just wait and see."

"I expect that I'll be waiting for a long time then." His voice half amused, half pitying, though still rather polite.

Her eyes narrowed.

He silently stared back at her, clearly serious about what he had said.

"You don't believe that I can accomplish my goal."

"Not with someone like him, no. If I were you I'd be smart and search elsewhere."

"You think that Igarashi will win, in the end." Her expression was a stony one, as she disregarded his last statement. "And I'd like for you to give me your explanation as to why."

"I've known him for a long time, but after talking with you for not much more than ten minutes, I can tell that you're just as head-strong as he is." His tone was matter-of-fact, back to being business-like. "Which means that the outcome of all of this is unpredictable, and therefore, I cannot say who will eventually be victorious." He paused, wondering how much he should allow himself to reveal. "However... Tora has far more experience than anyone else with these sorts of games, and he knows exactly what he needs to do in order to win."

In other words, he was telling her that Tora was going to be one hell of an opponent. But she had already known the fight, this 'game', wasn't going to be a walk in the park. So she simply nodded her head and kept her lips pursed.

"In any case, I'm sure it will be incredibly interesting to see how it all plays out." Maki added on, adequately interpreting Tora's most recurring thought process: that these games held a certain _interest_ , were the best source of _entertainment_ available.

He felt a random twinge of sympathy for Renei. Whenever Tora was pushed towards something, he always pulled back with even more force, aiming to win in every game of tug-of-war. And as far as Maki could recall, there had yet to be a time when he lost.

She was just wasting her time and effort by yanking on the rope, only to eventually be pulled into the mud.

"I wish you the best of luck in your efforts." You will need it, he thought, while displaying a practiced grin which had gradually become more stale throughout the entirety of the conversation, considering how many times he repeated showing it to her. "And I hope that you understand what you're getting yourself into."

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Renei replied coolly. "if I have learned anything from Igarashi in the little time that I have become reacquainted with him, it's that _strategy_ is the name of the game."

Maki did smirk this time, but he covered it up with a bow. Then, after straightening up he turned away without another word, as it appeared that their conversation was over now. Although he sensed that she would be coming to him in the future for more advice and assistance, so this certainly wouldn't be the last time they spoke like this.

Renei watched his back as he left, pondering his parting words to her. They were definitely meant to be taken as a warning. She briefly wondered if he was trying to actually help her out, or if it was more of him helping Tora out by misleading her, trying to persuade her to give up. Or maybe even, he was only humoring her, because he had seemed the slightest bit amused.

She was left unsure – that person was quite... inexplicable. And ridiculously tactless. She got the feeling that he didn't have a single, genuinely sensitive bone in his body.

"Didn't I inform you that you need to do more than just sound convincing?"

The unexpected, disembodied voice of a certain fiancé of hers admittedly had Renei thrown for a loop. She jolted in surprise, and spun around, only to see that it looked as if she was alone.

"Where are you hiding?" She inquired. "In one of the books?"

He laughed at her little joke, despite it not even being moderately funny to him. "My, don't you like to let your imagination run away with you? I'm just in the next isle."

Offended by his manner of speaking, all sugary-laced mockery, Renei walked up to the shelf where his voice was coming from and pulled out two books. Through the space she had created, she could see a pair of golden eyes staring at her from the other side. And though she couldn't see his mouth, it was all too clear that he was smirking.

"Igarashi, were you eavesdropping this entire time?" She felt frustrated with him, but it did not show through in her tone. In fact, her tone was quite mellow. They were in a library, after all.

He raised a finger so that she could see it, and crooked it. "Come here."

"No." From his point of view, her eyes had gone from soft to sharp in an instant.

"Oh?" He murmured, a playful tune traveling in his voice. "Are you sure you want to defy me, after all the warnings you've been given recently?"

"I'm sure that I don't want to be on the other side of this bookshelf with you."

A spark seemed to ignite from within the depths of his gaze. "And you think you're so much safer on that side of the shelf?"

"And you think I'm not?" Renei cocked her head. "Even though I obviously am."

She had not been expecting him to, with a swift movement that was undetectable, pull out another few books from one shelf down and grab hold of the bottom of her tie. He had enough grip on it that she couldn't get away, and she was suddenly yanked forward so that her body collided with the bookshelf. More books fell to the ground with a few loud 'thumps' from the force.

"Yes." His smile of glinting, perfect teeth was visible now. "Obviously."

Renei was scratching at his fist in an attempt to free herself. "Would you keep it down?" Her voice, so calm just a moment ago, had developed an undertone of annoyance.

"No." He said simply, mimicking her same tone from before as he used his free hand to carelessly push a few more books off the shelf. The pages rustled and each book made a different noise upon meeting with the floor.

She gave him a right and proper glare.

"You see?" He stepped closer until they were looking straight into each other's eyes, and she could see nothing else but his gaze. "It's not very nice, is it? When people don't give you what you want."

"Now that you've given me a taste of my own medicine, would you be so generous as to release me?" There was a frown in her words, even if she was making herself sound calm and collected.

"I am never generous, in fact, a young woman once said to me that I am just the opposite."

"Selfish? I might have said that, yes."

"Whoever said that I was talking about you?" Tora raised an eyebrow, as if shocked that she would assume that. But he had been counting on her making such an assumption. "I have been with many different women before, and I did not specify as to which one I was talking about."

"Tora-san..." She warned, her voice attaining an edge.

Suddenly, as if she had said the magic word, he released her and took several steps back. She took several steps back as well, frowning at how crinkled her tie had become in his grasp. And when she looked up to berate him for it, she was met with the sight of him staring at her through the numerous blank spaces in the shelf they had made, arms folded in a thinking pose of sorts.

"What is it?"

He narrowed his eyes, as if to see her better. "I was just thinking, if only Sanyu-san had your height." Renei stiffened, and he sighed as if truly disappointed. "Then her modeling career could take off, and I would finally get the chance to be with a model."

She had to be surprised by that. "You've never dated a model before?"

"I've never _bedded,_ " He emphasized. "a _Russian_ model before. To clarify, I've been with several others who weren't Russian." His grin appeared out of nowhere, and it was so vile that Renei felt it should be outlawed. "Which is such a shame, because it's on my to-do list. I hear all these delicious stories about how wild they can get, and I had high hopes for Sanyu-san, until I met her in person and realized that she could never be a model with her stature." It was not implied at all, but they both knew that he was going to sleep with her anyway, model or not. It was a given. That was the whole reason he had brought her up, to rub it in Renei's face.

Speaking of Renei's face, it had now rearranged into a look like she had just caught a whiff of something highly malodorous.

"If you are going to get sick," Tora sounded mostly indifferent, save for the trace of mild concern hinted in his crisp tone, which wasn't even directed at her. "try to avoid getting any of it on the books. I imagine that would be an unpleasant mess to clean up."

"I cannot believe," She muttered softly, fists clenching in carefully concealed anger. "that you have a _literal_ to-do list." She had never been so offended in her life, and it wasn't just personal. She felt offended for all women everywhere, not just herself.

"Don't worry," There was that grin again, accompanied by a soothing tone of voice meant to assuage her discomfort. It was like the devil himself was standing on the other side of that shelf. "you're on it as well."

Leave it to him to add insult to injury.

It was at this point in the conversation, that Renei decided to not stick around longer to witness what else he had in store for her. She'd had her fill of his vulgar witticism for one day, and it was barely past noon.

On her way around the corner, he had the audacity to follow after her, his pace leisurely until she sped up to avoid him and he grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from doing so.

Her voice was steady, but dangerous. "If you do not let go of me this instant –"

"Are you really prepared for this?"

Silence ensued.

"I _said_ , do you really think you're prepared –"

She spun around to face him, having needed a moment to collect herself. "Yes. Yes, I _am_ prepared, Igarashi."

If her words had troubled him at all, it didn't show. "And you're sure of this?" His tone was oh so sweet and mixed with disbelief. "Many women have told me that I am too much for them to handle. Although usually in situations where a bed is involved."

Renei opened her mouth, let it hang there for a moment, and then closed it when she realized she had no comment. If she were to speak at all, it would come out as a snappy remark and that would just show him that he could taunt her into losing her composure.

He smirked. "I see I've left you speechless. I tend to have that effect on women – again, usually in situations involving bedrooms... Well," He seemed to seriously consider it for a moment. "actually, more often than not, they're quite the opposite of speechless. Incredibly vocal, actually."

Renei steadied her breathing, and remained calm.

Leaning into her personal space, making sure his warm breath traveled languidly over her skin in order to make her feel all the more anxious, Tora spoke quietly into her ear. "Considering that you told me yourself that you bite, Nakajima, it's disappointing to me that your bark turned out to be worse. I had been expecting a bit more... well, just _more_."

"I can assure you, Igarashi, that I am not all talk and no game." She placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. Their eyes met, the dark of her indigo a harsh contrast to his light, golden gaze. "I have game, and plenty of it." She raised her chin, as if to say, 'hah!'

"Then why don't you try playing?" He pulled her closer to him.

"I have been playing." She said evenly, pushing him back again. "But not in the same way that you do. Because you never play fair."

"In a game without rules, who's to say what's fair and what's not?"

"Every game has rules. Actually, they _need_ rules. If there are no restrictions, then it's not considered a game."

Tora arched an eyebrow. "And your reasoning behind saying so is...?"

"Without restrictions," Renei leaned into his personal space this time, her breath ghosting over his mouth. He was surprised that she was willing to edge her lips so close to his. "without any challenges to overcome, the game loses its fun. And without the fun factor, there is no value to playing games."

She eased back, carefully, as if withdrawing from a cobra after she realized she had gotten too close to such a venomous snake. Then, with far less caution, she removed her arm from his grip and turned around. He stared at her, too surprised to stop her if she were to walk away at this point. But she didn't move just yet. She had one last thing to say.

"The first rule to our game will be that we will not have a physically intimate relationship. Make sure to take me off of your to-do list."

Tora merely had to blink, and then she was gone, having made a hasty escape somewhere within the maze of bookshelves.

Though he had been shown up this once, a dark look shadowed his face and his grin... was one of immense pleasure. "Hmm. So you do bite, after all."

xx

"Trouble in Paradise?"

Renei looked up to see a certain red-haired guitarist approaching. She began to stand up, but he held up a hand for her to stop.

"No, no, stay in your seat. I'll join you."

And so, without her consent, without even _asking_ her for her consent, he took the free seat next to her at the table she was sitting at in the school courtyard.

"Okay, fill me in." His voice was rather chipper, too chipper. It was disconcerting. "What did the Prez do to make you look so miserable?" He grinned, crookedly. Always crookedly.

"Don't just assume things." She all but grumbled, leaning her cheek onto one of her hands and sighing heavily.

"It's not an assumption. I just walked past Igarashi, who was looking very pleased with himself for some reason. And now, I stumble upon you, looking a little worse for wear." He tapped a finger to his temple. "Deductive reasoning."

"I don't know why he'd be pleased. I thought I had handled the situation better than he had expected me to."

Shin frowned, and tried to ignore the fact that she had ignored his brilliant detective skills. "Then why d'you look so down?"

Again, she sighed. Why she was willing to discuss this with him, she didn't know. Maybe because she had no one else to confide in. After all, if she called Masao and told him about what was going on, he'd have some kind of meltdown. Maybe go on a rampage. Who knew? And she didn't want to call the twins and make them think she couldn't handle living out here in the city. They had already told her not to go, and fretted about how she would handle city life (well, not Daisuke so much as Yumiko) and she had repeatedly reminded them that she wasn't a child and therefore could handle it. And she didn't want to talk to either of her parents about what was going on, because her mother wouldn't believe her (and she didn't even want to talk to her mother in the first place) and her father would want to call off the engagement.

It seemed that Shin was her only confidant at the moment.

"The 'highly esteemed' Student Council President has a to-do list of all the women he'd like to..." She absolutely refused to say 'do'. "Bed. Which is something that thoroughly disgusts me, but to make it all so much worse, _I_ am on the list. Or, was. I asked him to take me off the list, but I have no way of knowing if he will. Which pushes me past the point of disgust and makes me want to... throw things."

Shin glanced over her shoulder. "Is... that why your binder and all of your notes are scattered waaaay over there?" He pointed at where she had thrown said school supplies.

She did not supply him with an answer, since the answer was obvious which made his question rhetorical. "Bitter emotions," She felt the need to explain herself. "like frustration and anger, disagree with me. I find them irrational and unhealthy, so I push them down whenever I start to feel them, and eventually they spill over."

"Well, it makes sense that they'd bubble over if you held back for too long. It's all got to come out in the open eventually."

Renei let out another sigh, this time, one of relief. At least he wasn't judging her. She was already judging herself, because, throwing things was completely immature of her, and she _knew_ that, yet she didn't stop herself from having a momentary lapse in good judgement.

"Would you like to share some of my box lunch with me?" This time when Shin spoke, it was as if he had just sat down with her, and they had never even had the conversation they had just had. She appreciated that.

"Box lunch?" Renei took a moment to notice the bento box he had been holding this whole time. "Why wouldn't you just go to one of the cafés here in school?"

"Because my mother is a chef and when I was younger I took a page out of her book and learned how to cook. And why would I spend money on food someone else has made, when I can make it for myself, free of charge?" He leaned into her. "What do ya say? Wanna try some of my cooking?" And, because Shin is Shin, he couldn't hold back on giving her a flirtatious wink.

Under normal circumstances, Renei would not indulge the flame-haired boy. But after her short encounter with Tora, she was just about at her limit, and she didn't want to be left alone because then she might do something stupid again, like throw more stuff. And who's to say she wouldn't be so lucky as the last time, and the next time she did it, someone would see? And then her reputation would be effectively ruined.

Besides, Shin wasn't necessarily bad company, despite what she had seen of him so far. What mattered was what was happening right now, and right now, he was taking the time to be with her and even share his lunch with her. And that was, she had to admit, really nice of him. Sometimes, she forgot that not everything could be handled all on her own. She forgot that other people could offer her comfort and help take some of the load off, if only she'd just ask. It's just, she never thought to ask. Also, she never thought that simply sharing a homemade lunch with an acquaintance would manage to cheer her up. But at the moment, it seemed very possible that it would.

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Alright Yoshikawa. I don't see why not."

* * *

A/N: Which did you like better, the scene with Tora or the scene with Shin? That reminds me, I need to start coming up with some shipping names... leave me your ideas in the comments for what they should be, if you please :3

I'm kinda jealous of this Sanyu character I created, I mean, her mother's Japanese and her father's Russian. The women of both those countries are drop dead gorgeous, usually, and since Sanyu's a mixture of both... haha, is it weird that I feel inferior to one of my own characters that I made up? ...There's no need for you to answer that. It is weird. Hi, I'm weird. *waves awkwardly*

And before you ask: YES Sanyu is going to cause a ruckus at some point in the story, I wouldn't introduce a character like that and have her just sit around knitting fluffy sweaters for everyone.

CK:*


	7. A Change in Strategy

A/N: Can I just say that I loved writing this chapter? I can? Okay awesome. Because I LOVED writing this chapter. It was very fun.

And for those of you wondering when Misaki and Usui will be added into the mix, here is some patience *throws out handfuls of patience* please hold onto that for me. The blond alien and his maid might take a while to make their appearances. I gotta build up the plot first. Cuz, y'know, plot is kinda important.

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Seven

A Change in Strategy

...

Presently, Renei was in the dining room of apartment 1205, enjoying a home-cooked meal (courtesy of Shin) with her brother and the members of Rose Picture.

This was only the third or fourth time they had all met up in person, but somehow, somewhere along the way, she had become... or was becoming... friends, with them. She had gotten to know Shin a little better since they had lunch together that one time, but she wasn't well-acquainted with everyone else yet. Because of this, they (unknown to Renei) had decided as a group to hang out and have dinner together with her after another practice session in the studio. Apparently, everyone in Rose Picture had taken some sort of liking to Renei without her realizing it.

"Renei-chan! Nao-chan's being rude!" Out of nowhere a body came barreling into her, strong arms clinging around her waist in a bear hug that she couldn't escape from if she tried.

Haruto, especially, liked her. He told her once that she brought him a sense of comfort the same way his older sister did, and Renei was surprised to find out that he had a sibling. If his sister was anything like him, then she felt sorry for whoever had to put up with raising the two of them. Haruto alone was quite the handful.

"I'm sure you're just exaggerating... again... Haru." She cringed upon referring to him in such a personal way. But, if she didn't call him 'Haru', then he would fixate her with a wide, puppy-eyed look that absolutely broke her heart. So naturally, she had made the exception.

"Jeez, all I said was that you were acting childish." Nao spoke up from her end of the dining table, and then she gestured to the way the singer was clinging to Renei. "And I think this display only provides further proof for my thesis."

Haru stuck his tongue out at the bassist, and continued to cling to Renei, nuzzling his silken head against her cheek. Renei released a sigh, dropped her fork, and eased back against her chair in defeat. Prying him off of her was impossible, so why try? The boy had a grip like steel. And he loved hugs. There was no escape.

Just then, Shin came through the swinging door that led from the kitchen into the dining room. He wore a checkered apron and a proud smile, and was carrying a plate of something that smelled scrumptious towards the table full of people. They had already eaten a full course, and yet there was even more where that came from, because he had made enough for ten people rather than six. "How's everything tasting, guys? Anyone up for seconds?"

"Technically, it would be thirds. And I couldn't eat another bite." Nao stated, pulling her phone out and falling into the bottomless pit that is social media.

Masao didn't bother to look up from the laptop sitting in his lap. His plate of food was growing cold where it sat on the table in front of him, only a little picked at. He had been quietly working, tuning everything else out with his headphones on, through the entirety of the meal. The only reason he wasn't in his bedroom? Haru had started to fuss about how it wouldn't be fair if they ate without him. And when Haru makes a fuss, the smartest thing to do is comply before the crying starts.

Ryota rose from his seat and collected his, Nao's, and Haruto's plates before heading for the kitchen to put them in the sink. "Haru." He nudged the ebony-haired boy as he passed by him and Renei. "Dishes. Come on."

The singer made a sort of 'humph' sound. "I don't want to help with dishes. That's no fun at all." He squeezed Renei even tighter, not noticing her wheezing, and beamed. "I'd rather sit here with Renei-chan~"

Ryota didn't say another word. But he did raise both eyebrows, which was apparently enough of a warning.

With a pout, Haru finally detached himself from Renei and grudgingly followed the drummer into the kitchen.

She sighed in relief, picking up her fork again and transferring the last bit of chicken from her plate into her mouth. No sooner had she patted her mouth with a napkin and begun to stand up, then she was pushed back down by a warm hand belonging to none other than the overzealous chef.

"What d'you say about seconds, Renei?" He leaned over her to place the huge plate he had been holding on the table in front of her. The sight and smell of it was two temptations folded up into one.

She glanced up at him, eyes narrowed down to slits. "I thought we had agreed upon Renei- _san_." The tempting food offering, she had decided, was not worth ignoring the way he had spoken her name so casually.

"But that's so formal."

"Just the way it's supposed to be, then."

"But why?" His goofy smile flip-flopped into a frown. "We're friends now, aren't we? There's really no need for honorifics in our group."

Renei had to pause at this. She peered at her brother from across the table, who had looked up at the mention of the word 'friends' as well. They both knew that she wasn't too keen on developing close relationships with people. Her family was the one exception. Not even the girls on her junior high softball team back at home, who she had been on the team with for three whole years, had been considered friends to her. She called them 'close acquaintances'.

As luck would have it, she was saved from giving any sort of response to that when their attention was stolen by Ryota coming back into the room.

"Where's Haruto?" She asked as a diversion, seeing as the singer wasn't with him.

"Doing dishes."

"No he's not." Nao spoke up from her corner. She took her feet off of Ryota's chair where they had been propped up, so that he could sit there again. "I bet you anything he's got out his handheld, and is playing whatever new video game he's obsessed with. He loathes doing chores."

Masao pulled his headphones down around his neck, closed his laptop, and stood up. "I'll be finishing the dishes then. Wouldn't want him to break anything anyway." He adjusted his glasses with the tip of a finger. "It's getting late, so you all ought to be headed home soon. Renei and myself can't entertain you all night, we need our rest."

"You hardly ate." Renei mentioned worriedly, eyeing his unfinished meal.

He took his plate with him as he passed into the kitchen. "I'll just eat the leftovers in the morning, or pack it up for my lunch tomorrow."

Before she could reply, Shin called out after him first. "Don't nuke it! It's better when you warm it back up in the oven!"

Masao disappeared behind the swinging door, shaking his head and muttering to himself as he went. It took a moment before Haruto came swaying out of the same door, relieved of his dish washing duties. As Nao had predicted, he was playing some sort of video game on his handheld. It made everyone jump when he randomly shot a fist into the air and cheered.

"Yes! I defeated them!" He hurried towards Renei, throwing his arms over the back of her chair, resting his chin on her head, and showing her the screen of his video game. "Look, look, Renei-chan! I kept all the foreigners from trying to invade my camp! I'm a herooooo~"

She uncertainly gave him a pat on the arm. "Good for you, Haru." Now someone just needed to keep _him_ from invading her personal space...

"Hey, speaking of foreign." Everyone looked over at Shin. "Have you all met that Russian exchange student, Sanyu?"

Renei twitched. No, she hasn't formally met Sanyu yet; but lately everywhere she went she'd been seeing, and hearing, far too much of her. Ever since her unpleasant chat with Igarashi in the library, that foreigner girl had been getting on her nerves a lot more than before. She clung to Tora like a second skin. And he indulged her. And everyone talked about it.

"Rulin-chan?" Haru paused his game and blinked up in curiosity. "That girl that the President's been awfully chummy with lately?"

Shin went on to continue. "Yeah, her. I talked for a whole minute with her, managed to get a compliment in – before she _slapped_ me and walked away. She's smokin' hot, with a hot temper to match." He leaned back against the wall and placed both hands in the pockets of his apron. "I really don't know why she hit me though, I mean, jeez. Still hurts."

"Shin, any proper girl would slap you, with the type of bold compliments that you give." Nao mentioned tersely.

"But that's the thing! I wasn't being even mildly inappropriate, all I said was that I liked the caramel color of her hair. She's definitely something else, never met a girl like that." He was chuckling now, although no one else thought it was funny that the Russian girl was so... aggressive for apparently no reason. He looked up at everyone, and quirked a brow. "Oh come on, one of you has to at least admit that she's attractive."

Renei leaned back into her chair, arms folded and face set in aloofness. "She's certainly attractive, enough so to be a model... too bad she isn't taller though." There was, perhaps, maybe, a _hint_ of bitter sarcasm weaved into her tone.

"Height doesn't matter." The bassist smirked and looked up from her phone for a moment. "A pretty, skinny little thing like that is exactly the kind of girl President Igarashi goes for. After all, he did have an interest in me once, and I'm, what? A whole foot shorter than him? I think he _likes_ having a height advantage. After all, he has an inflated ego the same size as Shin's, that needs the same consistent amount of stroking."

"Hey!" The guitarist exclaimed, obviously taking offense, though no one really cared.

What Nao had just said was news to Renei, and it left her staring openly at the other girl. "He had an interest in you once?" For heaven's sake, had the guy tried his luck with _every_ girl at Miyabigaoka?

Ryota decided to speak up at this point and criticize his friends. "All of you should be handling this matter with a little more delicacy, considering that Renei-san is engaged to the President."

What counted as an awkwardly apologetic silence followed. In the absence of noisy conversation, Renei had a moment or two to herself in which she could delve into her mind.

She wasn't sure, but there was a possibility that she could be developing an inferiority complex towards Rulin-san. Which was something new to her, because, she had never had any competition before in terms of looks and wealth. She came from the country side, where her father owned the largest plantation (and that was considered a big deal, there). Everyone had looked up to Renei and her family, but now, Renei was away from all of that, and surrounded by people who were on the same level as her, or even on a higher level than her. The endless talent, good looks, wealth and high social status of the students at Miyabigaoka, made her feel less unique and much more _average_. It's not like she was obsessed with attention – she wasn't anything of the sort. Actually, at times it could make her feel really uncomfortable. The thing was, it was just a weird transition to go through, from being the talk of the town to being just like everyone else. Maybe she did fit into some sort of mold, as Tora thought everyone did. Or maybe the culture shock was finally starting to set in.

Whatever the case, of course she wasn't overjoyed about how things stood right now. While she was currently on the same level as everyone else, Rulin-san was not. That woman was unique in every way – her ethnicity, her personality, her physical features. And what's worse, she was vying after Renei's fiancé. If this were a competition, then much to Renei's vexation, the Russian was the one winning it.

All of these burdensome thoughts were, thankfully, given a flying kick out the window when an arm settled around her shoulders in a way that could only be meant to comfort.

She glanced up, meeting eyes with Shin. He had on that crooked smile of his, and was gazing at her with dark, glittering eyes. One of his hands came up and ran through the length of her ponytail, and he admired her shiny locks. "You know what? While it's true that caramel is delicious, I have to say that I've always preferred chocolate."

She smiled, albeit lightly, at him, and the moment was kind of sweet...

...that is until his smile turned devious as he proclaimed, "Although caramel and chocolate put _together_ is a treat that would be the greatest pleasure to indulge in."

In the moments that followed, Renei shoved Shin away from her and everyone collectively took turns smacking him upside the head for her sake. Haruto started laughing about how the guitarist was a 'human piñata!', which made it all the more delightful.

"Hey, hey! Cut that out you guys! And Haru, just shut up already, I'm not a freakin' piñata!"

The singer chuckled to himself, before sharing his little joke aloud, "Maybe so, but I'm sure that if we burst you open, candy would spill out."

Shin pouted at the statement, and Nao gave Haru a well-deserved high-five.

"Well _anyway_ ," The red head began again. "my point is that caramel mixed with chocolate is a classic blend. It's the most mouth-watering combination there is so of course I'd love to partake of such –"

" _Yoshikawa._ " Renei ground out in a tone that, if tones could kill, would have had him dropping dead at her feet. "Cut it out."

He idiotically pressed on. "I'm not trying to offend you Renei, you should actually feel flattered that –"

"Renei- _san!_ " Her eyes rolled automatically at his casualness. Was it not clear to him yet that he had no right to not use the correct suffix with her name? Much less, the right to suggest something like a threesome between him, herself, and – ugh!

"You're cute when you're angry." He simpered, for some reason thinking that his usual charms would work on her when she was _mad_ at him, when they had never even worked when she was in a _good_ mood.

She leaned an elbow on the table and rested her forehead against the edge of her hand. His antics, if they continued for the duration of the time that she was acquainted with him, were probably going to end up giving her grey hairs. "Could someone please get him to stop talking?"

Upon this request, Ryota stood, maneuvered behind the other boy, pulled up Shin's own arms to cross in front of his neck (while ignoring his protests), and applied pressure. Merely a few seconds later, Shin passed out in his arms, effectively quieted.

Renei stared at the drummer in awe, her expression asking for an explanation as he unceremoniously dumped the red head into a chair.

He looked down at her, auburn eyes as dispassionate as ever, and gave a shrug. "Aikido." Was all he said.

It took her a moment to collect herself. And when she had, she could only let out a breath in a relieved sigh. "Well then... Thank God for aikido."

Naturally, that got Nao smirking and sent Haru into a fit of giggles.

xx

An hour or so later, the band mates had been kicked out of the apartment by their manager, who was not amused when they told him the story of why Shin had been lying unconscious on the carpet while the rest of them took up the sofa space and watched TV in the lounge.

"Using the stranglehold on me was a bit unwarranted, don'tcha think?" Shin complained, now fully conscious once more.

Ryota gazed down at his friend with a faintly amused grin, which was the most emotion he ever really showed. "No. It was completely warranted."

"But–"

"It was." Nao agreed, sidling up next to Ryota, who towered over her like a mountain, as usual.

"I feel bad about accidentally upsetting Renei-chan earlier." Haru mumbled from behind. He was back to playing video games on his handheld. "If she's our friend, then we should be careful about what we say that might hurt her feelings." He was obviously more upset about how things had played out than the others were.

"It's okay Haru, you did a good job of lifting her spirits with all the jokes you were making. I think she appreciated it." Nao linked her arm through one of tall drummer's beside her as their group began to walk away from the apartment complex looming behind them. "And I think Ryota here got her in a better mood by making quick work of getting Shin to shut up."

The next thing they knew, said guitarist had come to a halt, looking all of a sudden, despondent.

The group made a U-turn and Nao linked her arm through one of his as well, pulling him along. "...And of course, Shin here was the first to cheer her up by saying something ridiculously cheesy but admittedly, thoughtful and really sweet." She left out the part about how it was mainly his fault that Renei was even upset at all in the first place. Nobody else had mentioned Sanyu before he had, and he really didn't have to bring her up. Sometimes, he jumped right into things without thinking it through first. (Okay, a lot of the time)

The red head perked up immediately at the praise, and both Nao and Ryota rolled their eyes. It was often debated between the two of them if Shin was more temperamental than Haru, but really in the end, they were an even match.

"Can we go to the sweet shop down on the next avenue?" Shin was always adamant about his 'rewards' after being given any sort of praise, compliment, etc. In fact, he would use any excuse in order to go out for dessert. One time, he stubbed his toe, blamed the crack in the sidewalk that he had stubbed it on, and took himself out for ice cream.

"I don't care." Ryota helpfully supplied.

Nao was looking around, as if searching for something. "Well wait a minute, didn't Masao-sensei send us off with a few cookies or something after you did all of that begging and demanding?"

As subtly as possible, Shin wiped away a few stray crumbs from his mouth. "Y'know," He glanced away. "I don't recall..."

Haru walked up to him and slapped him on the shoulder harder than was necessary. "Liiiiiaarrrr~" He taunted, and laughed when Shin glared down at him and snapped 'that hurt, dammit!'.

Despite the fact that he had lied though, and that no one else was interested in going, after another round of begging, and arguing that Ryota _owed_ him for the whole stranglehold thing, and that Nao _owed_ him for encouraging it, and that Haru _owed_ him for smacking him just now, the group ended up calling a cab and going to the sweet shop down on the next avenue.

xx

The next day when school got out, Renei was walking across the parking lot when she saw Nao coming towards her. As this wasn't a normal occurrence, and usually the flame-haired guitarist was the one harassing her, Renei came to a halt in order to see what this was about.

"Hey, Renei-san." The Chinese girl smiled charmingly.

"Nao-san." For a moment, a look of confusion passed over her face. "Do you need something?"

Nao's white hair was crimped today, a few sections in the front held back with a purple hair clip, which she was currently trying to readjust so that it pushed her bangs back behind her ear. "Well, it's not something I'd say that I need, really. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and the rest of the band again today. We're going to go do karaoke downtown."

Karaoke? "Oh." She re-positioned her books underneath her arm awkwardly. "Well I can't really sing..."

"Does it matter? It's fun to try." Nao cocked her head and raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'don't you want to try?'

Fun?

Why was that word always associated with these people? She had lost track of the times Shin would try to get her to go to certain places or do something because it was 'fun'.

"Are you the one asking me now because I always turn down Yoshikawa's offers?" Renei speculated.

"Actually it was my idea to ask you this time, but he was all for it when I told him I was going to invite you to come with us." Nao appeared to be telling the truth... she also appeared to be struggling with her hair. "I can't get this damn thing to work, it's hard to do without a mirror." She sighed and handed Renei the clip. "Can you help me out? I just want my bangs out of my face."

Unused to this sort of interaction, since she had two brothers, her mom had been absent from her life for five years, her only sister was uncommunicative, and she had avoided having close relationships with the girls on her softball team, Renei stared blankly down at the clip in her hand, not making any sort of move to reach into Nao's personal space.

"It's not like I'm asking you that big of a favor." Nao initiated contact first, nudging Renei in a friendly manner.

Since it seemed odd if she didn't, Renei reached down and clipped the hair accessory into place so that it restrained the other girl's bangs. "There."

"Thanks. So, karaoke? With me and the guys? Ryo and I will keep Haru and Shin off your back if that makes it sound more appealing."

It did make it sound more appealing. And she couldn't lie to herself, hanging out with them had been improving her spirits lately. They were good people who knew how to have a good time. Besides, the alternative was going home to an empty apartment (Masao was, of course, hard at work at the Echo Entertainment building) do homework, read, take a nap, wander aimlessly from room to room... "Okay, sure. But I do have some homework that I eventually need to –" She stopped mid-sentence, catching sight of Igarashi's white limo parked up ahead.

Suddenly, she had an idea. One of those 'might as well' ideas, where the outcome was uncertain but it was still worth a try anyway if there was the possibility of the outcome being positive. "Nao-san, hold that thought. I'll be right back."

She strutted towards the vehicle with purpose, ignoring the way other students stared at her as she approached the personal property of the Student Council President. She could even feel the glares of several girls as her hand came to rest on the door handle of the limousine, but she ignored them too as she opened up the car door without precaution.

"Igarash–" Her words cut off on their own again, her eyes flickering from him, to the bleach blonde leaning into the crook of his arm. He had a grip on the girl's chin, but released it when they were interrupted.

"Renei-san." He murmured her name invitingly, in a slow purr. His sharp teeth, or his canines at least, flashed in a dangerously deceptive way as he grinned. "Care to join in on the fun?"

There was that word again. And although she may not know much about it, she strongly felt that the current situation wasn't anywhere near the definition of it.

"Your complete and utter lack of propriety continues to astonish me. But if you _are_ going to engage in these sort of activities while still on school grounds, then at least remember to lock the doors first." She managed to sound more unaffected than she felt, by both his words and his companion sitting next to him (or rather, Renei noticed as an afterthought with much disdain, sitting practically in his lap). Well, at least it wasn't Rulin-san. She dreaded the day she'd have to confront the two of _them_ together.

"And your counsel is neither needed nor welcome, you see, that is what I have Maki and several others for. But if you must know my reasoning behind not locking the doors, I simply didn't think that anyone would be so reckless as to barge into my car without at least having the courtesy to knock first." He cocked an eyebrow. "And you say that _I'm_ the one who lacks propriety?"

She had a comeback on her lips, some sort of snappish comment about how such self-assured arrogance was unbecoming on him, when something stopped her.

He sat there, leaning comfortably into the leather interior of his expensive car, with his uniform jacket discarded and the first few buttons of his dress shirt undone. His skin was flawless (not that it ever didn't appear that way), his teeth were a glimmering set of perfection, and in the dim lighting that the limousine offered, his eyes appeared richer, a deeper shade of gold, and were as transfixing as always. Like a wild feline's glowing, predatory glare in the dark depths of the jungle.

Taking this moment to really get a look at him, Renei realized that, nothing was ever unbecoming on him. Nothing ever would be, if he lived his whole life looking like he'd just stepped out of a male model catalog.

He seemed to catch on to her fixation with his appearance, because his next words to her were all smooth, buttery suggestiveness. "Having second thoughts about rule one, Nakajima? I can always put you back on my list. Though," He paused, acting as if he had to think about it in order to remember correctly, but his smirk gave him away. "I never really did take you off of it."

"Rule one is set in stone, Igarashi." She met the wicked promises in his eyes with a sharp look of her own. "And the matter of taking me off your list is also non-negotiable."

"Ah, but you see, once you're on the list," He turned, moving again to cup the chin of the blonde who had been patiently waiting for him to return his attentions to her. The girl sat there like a doll, perfectly immune to the conversation going on over her head as she quietly played with the buttons on Tora's shirt; which was, somehow, a very mocking gesture, in Renei's eyes. "You do not get taken off of it," Voice a mere whisper of a caress, Tora closed the small space between him and his companion to initiate the type of crushing kiss that bruises lips and makes gelatin out of any girl's bones; which the blonde girl eagerly allowed. And if you looked closely enough ― though Renei certainly had not _meant_ to do so ― you could see the slip of his tongue into her mouth, and the instant flush that arose on the girl's cheeks, the way her fingers playing with his buttons suddenly grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked him closer...

Oh, heavens, this was _awkward_. Renei's own mouth ― perfectly fine being separated from the other two's, thank you very much! ― dropped open to protest; but all words seemed to have escaped her. Offense didn't even begin to cover what she was feeling. Actually, the embarrassment that flooded through her far surpassed that of any other emotion.

Of course it was no secret that Igarashi entertained girls like this on a regular basis, and it was Renei's goal to interfere when she could, but, it was never her intention to witness such a private act first-hand. She felt like she didn't belong, not that she even _wanted_ to belong. She also felt like it might be a good idea to go cleanse her eyes with soap after this. Vigorously.

When he pulled away from the girl with a hum, Tora licked his lips and tossed Renei a heated glance over his shoulder. "...Until there is a check mark next to your name." He finished, sounding soft and sweet and evil all at the same time.

For however long the kiss had dragged on for and several seconds subsequent to that, the brunette gaped at the two of them like an idiot, but even an idiot could understand the implications of his words.

Closing her mouth in order to swallow the dryness in her throat, Renei forced herself to reply firmly, "Then it will be my honor to be the first woman to have her name crossed off of it, rather than checked off of it."

"It would seem that you don't understand." Tora tilted the blonde's chin up towards him _again_ , and a pleased sigh tumbled out of the girl's lips as she leaned in eagerly for a repeat performance. "Am I going to have to explain it to you once more in the same way that I just did?"

The bleached doll giggled. Renei's eyes widened. Tora's smirk grew to criminal proportions, looking far too pleased with himself.

 _How,_ Renei thoughts exploded in annoyance, _just how is it possible, even_ easy _for him, to use one girl to bait another? Doesn't she know she's being used? Doesn't she_ care _?_ Eyes fluttering and cheeks burning from the blush that had settled there, the brunette crossed her arms and looked away with a huff. Igarashi was... _all sorts_ of impossible, with an insatiable appetite to match! And the girls he hung around were no better. "Of course not, never mind that, one explanation is quite enough. And for your information, I actually had a reason for seeking you out."

He exhaled a breath in the type of overdramatic way that made her want to reach into the car and shake him by the collar of his already-rumpled shirt.

"And this reason is?"

Renei paused at the question. Her 'might as well' idea had turned into a 'might as well _not_ ' idea at this point, but still...

She had to start somewhere with him. And right now, she was nowhere. It was about time she started trying harder to make some headway in their relationship, right? No matter how troubling he was... Things could not stay this way forever, with their conversations being either short lived or filled with tension, and him freely flouncing about with other girls. She needed to _fix_ this, before it spiraled even further out of her control.

And maybe doing a fun activity together (as long as it wasn't _his_ idea of a fun activity, because heaven help her if she was ever subjected to whatever _that_ might be) would mend some of the patches in their unbalanced, disconnected relationship.

"I wanted to invite you to come with me and a few others to karaoke." She stared at him seriously, willing herself to calm down and her frustrated blush to fade away.

"Now this is interesting," Tora leaned forward, and she couldn't tell if he was actually considering her invitation or just feeling a little entertained by the prospect. His face was often unreadable like that. "You've always asked the same old questions, asking me to have lunch with you or study with you... and you alone." He quirked an eyebrow, and there was something like laughter in his eyes. Something _like_ it, but not quite _it_. "What, did you acquire some friends to help recruit me now?"

For a moment, Renei felt conflicted as to whether or not she should refer to them as her friends. In the end, she decided to not refer to them at all. "I was thinking that if you won't spend one-on-one time with me, then you might come to a group activity."

"And if I don't want to come?"

She narrowed her eyes, leaning away from the car. "Then don't come. I won't force you." It was really a good thing that she hadn't set high expectations for this. But it felt nice that she had at least tried. "If no is your answer then I'll simply go without you." With nothing more to say, she began to shut the car door.

"Nakajima." He called out to her just before it closed.

The door remained open by a crack. "What?"

"I'll go."

The door opened all the way again to reveal a clearly surprised Renei. "You will _what?_ "

"I will," He met her eyes confidently, looking quite honest about his answer. "accept your invitation and go with you and your friends."

This was unexpected, and... _way too easy_. Renei titled her head, lifting a single eyebrow in suspicion. "If?"

His smile was so polite, it was sickening. "You didn't even ask me properly, and I don't really feel like going in the first place. But I'm sure there are ways you could... Convince me."

She blinked, staring at him as if he'd just grown a second head, not quite understanding. "What? Do you want me to tell you how much fun it will be? How you'll really be missing out if you don't tag along?"

"Not quite." His tone became quieter, a low, silken timbre as the blonde seated beside him, apparently fed up with being ignored, ran a hand up his clothed chest and into the opening of his shirt. She whispered something into his ear as well, laughing a bit. The action made Renei twitch. That woman was doing a fantastic job of assisting Tora with insulting her morals. The whole scene just screamed, with amplified mockery, 'we're fooling around behind your back, ha-ha'. Not that that much wasn't painfully obvious before...

"Then what?" She averted her eyes from the pair. Tora looked as if he was enjoying the touches a little too much, though he might just be exaggerating his reactions for the sake of aggravating her. In fact, she was certain he was.

Golden eyes, half-lidded and murky, traveled over Renei in a slow, deliberate drag, and after minutes of silent staring, she still wasn't prepared for what he said when he finally opened up his mouth again, "I want you to beg for it."

He stated it like he had just told her what he had for breakfast, making the words seem like they held no strange implications whatsoever. So when the words eventually did sink into her brain, she found herself wondering if she had heard that correctly. Renei studied his face with a frown creasing her forehead, searching for some sign of him playing some sort of joke on her. Tora raised both his eyebrows, expectantly.

Apparently, she _had_ heard that correctly.

The crease in her forehead deepened. "The only begging I'm going to be doing," She assured. "Is begging your pardon."

"Oh? But what I'm asking of you isn't outside of your capabilities, so it's not as though I am being unfair in my negotiations." His eyes widened in surprise, his voice so smooth and persuasive, that she almost fell for the act. Almost. But then his voice went lower, darker, more sinful in his next words, "You can choose either to stand or to kneel, though I would prefer the latter. And say 'please', or 'pretty please', and whatever else that comes to mind, until I tell you when to stop."

It took her a bit before she remembered to breathe again, feeling suffocated by the look in his eyes. "I am absolutely not going to do that, and I'm offended that you'd think I'd even consider."

He shrugged, leaning back into the seat behind him once again and running a hand through the blonde girl's hair, before tugging on the strands and drawing her closer to him so that she could better reach his jawline with the little kisses she was showering on any bare skin available. "If you do not beg for my company, then I won't give it to you." He stated simply.

With a wave of disgust passing through her, Renei wondered if the blonde girl had begged for it. But then, what lady in her right mind would resort to such a demeaning act?

 _The ones desperate for attention from wildly wealthy and devilishly handsome young men_ , her brain helpfully supplied as she gave the girl, who was acting no better than a mindless doll, a disapproving glare.

"Tora-san." She flicked her gaze back to the young man in question, taking care to pepper her next words with enough exaggerated incredulity to force his full attention back onto her. "How on earth am I to ever gain your respect if I'm always following orders and begging for the things that I want?"

When his eyes widened enough for her to take notice, she once again felt the urge to reach in and shake him, hard. Instead, however, she tilted her chin up, and gazed down at him with a scowl, "Why are you so surprised? I should think it's only obvious that independence earns respect, not submissiveness." Before he could form a response, she pressed on with a snarky, last-minute comment. "Keep in mind that I do not _beg_. I am not your _pet_ _._ But that woman beside you might as well be, what with the way she's been pawing at you this whole time."

With a turn of her heel and a sway in her step, Renei left them to their tryst, just like that. She had kept Nao waiting for her long enough, and besides that, she really had nothing more to say to that pervert Igarashi. And she didn't bother to close the car door this time, either; no, he could get that for himself. Or that fake blonde could do it for him.

xx

Later on in the evening, Tora was flipping through a magazine, lounging on a sofa in the living room (one of many living rooms, really, the mansion had a lot of levels to it) when his father decided to pay him a surprise visit.

"We never do have father-son bonding sessions, so you'll forgive me if I didn't mark this one on my calendar." He said, voice dry as a bone.

"I often have to wonder why countless women always seem to find you positively charming." His father's tone was harsh, more of a reprimand than a statement.

"I often wonder the very same about you." Tora murmured. "By the way, has mother found out about that twenty-something-year-old yet, or should I still keep quiet about that?"

This comment was followed by a beat of silence. The atmosphere was nothing if not tense, the only sound in the room being that of Tora flipping through each page of the magazine. Mr. Igarashi didn't try to defend himself, or deny anything. He liked to pretend that he was a good man, so he chose to never openly acknowledge his infidelity. Never mind how Tora knew about it every time that he had an affair – if he asked how his son got his information, then that would mean acknowledging that all of the affairs had happened.

Once the silence had passed, his father was the first to speak this time. "I'll take it as a positive sign that you haven't tried to get rid of her yet."

Tora paused in the middle of turning another page. He didn't have to ask, to know which _her_ his father was referring to. It would seem he just couldn't catch a break from all this fiancée business, could he? Renei was on his case at school, and when he got home, his parents took their turn to harass him about it. Why couldn't everyone just leave him be, for one measly evening of lazy relaxation?

"Who's to say I haven't tried?" Tora finished turning the page, eyeing a glossy picture of a Rolex Submariner watch. Thirty million yen. He could buy it, if he wanted it. The items advertised in this magazine carried prices ranging from thousands of yen to hundreds of thousands to millions, and he could buy any of it. Even all of it. Not that any of it would do him any good, would get him what he _really_ wanted out of life. "That woman is... Adamant." He pursed his lips, thinking that 'adamant' didn't even begin to cover it.

"Perseverance is one of her most admirable qualities." Tomio sounded too pleased for Tora's liking.

"And also, one of her most annoying." The younger man skipped back a few pages, landing on a dog-eared page. On it was a picture of several different Martin Katz diamond bracelets – two million, one hundred and eighty thousand yen each. His brow raised and he turned the page towards his father. "Present for mother's birthday, I presume?"

His father chose to keep focused on the conversation, flat-out ignoring the magazine page; not that Tora was very surprised. "Say what you will about her. It doesn't matter how many negative comments you toss around, because we both know that had your mother and I found you a softer, more permissive woman, you would have lost interest by now."

Tora's expression remained the same, although he did get rather cheeky all of a sudden. "Hn. Is that what your parents said to you when they set you up with my mother?" He didn't give his father a chance to respond to that as he immediately switched topics again. "If it's not a present for mother's birthday, then have you taken a sudden liking to wearing women's jewelry? Or perhaps it's for one of your women on the side?" His smirk was something cruel. Something that cut deep.

Something, Tora noted with pleasure, that caused Tomio's stubbornly calm gaze to harden briefly into a glare. "It is for your mother's birthday." The man's tone of voice had changed. It was still its usual deep, guttural boom, but it had attained a certain quality to it that made it sound smooth, like the icing on a cake, yet as cold as ice. "Speaking of which, I've been meaning to remind you that you will be escorting Renei to the party."

His son finally set down the god-damned magazine – which Tomio had seriously considered throwing into the fireplace – in order to look him in the eye. "So we are going to make it public now?"

If his engagement was announced at his mother's party, it would surely be listed in all the tabloids, magazines, and other types of media shortly afterwards. He really didn't want to deal with any of that yet, if ever. Best case scenario in his mind had been that taking it to the public would be delayed for as long as possible.

"What better time to announce our only son's engagement, than at a party that Japan's wealthiest entrepreneurs and socialites will be attending?" At the sight of Tora's displeasure, it was his father's turn to smirk.

"The party isn't for me." Tora's expression was swept clean of all emotion, but his voice had dropped down an octave, as it always did when he was upset. "Don't you think that announcing such big news on mother's birthday would turn it into a celebration for me rather than her? Do you not think that would upset her?"

For seemingly no reason, his father began laughing – a sound that was loud and harsh and not in the least bit jovial, like laughter was supposed to be. More like, it was the sound of a villain standing over its latest victim with knife still in hand. Tora narrowed his eyes, not quite catching the joke.

"Not at all," His father's drawl was cool and even as he turned to leave. "In fact, it was her idea."

With a few long strides towards the door, Tomio disappeared from the room, leaving his son to his own devices once more.

Left with information that did not please him, Tora growled in annoyance and tossed the magazine away. He laid back onto the sofa and grabbed a different magazine from the nearby table, staring at the cover to distract himself from his inner frustrations.

The title on this specific magazine made him blink once, and then again, just to be sure he was seeing it right. Written in bold, capital letters was the word 'FETCH!', and surrounding that title were pictures of all sorts of purebred dogs. It would appear he had picked up the spring issue of a popular pet's magazine. Why they were getting this in the mail, he hadn't any idea. But here it was, in his hands... Reminding him of his fiancée.

Tora absent-mindedly started flipping through the magazine, without really paying attention to reading anything in it. In all honesty, Renei had been on his mind ever since their conversation earlier today. She had left him with some interesting points about earning his respect, and not being the type to beg, and not being his... what was the words she had used? Ah, yes. Pet.

Oh, now didn't she think she was so very _clever,_ hmm? A cut above the rest? Well... alright, he wouldn't argue that. She happened to be much more... Just, _more_ than other girls tended to be. Renei did not do _obeying_ , or any sort of submitting at his feet. She did not paw at him and whine for his attention. No, she was more thoughtful about getting to him, she actually strategized. And he could admit to himself, he liked her wit, and craved her challenges, but at the same time no one person had ever frustrated him so much. Her words always had a point to them, a sharp one. Her will was undeniably strong, and her cunning often times got the better of him in the end, to his surprise and... Delight? Annoyance? In any case, whatever it was she made him feel, the truth at the center of it was that he had never had an opponent so _worthy_ before. She knew how to keep up with him. She knew how to rile him, how to bait him, in ways none of the other girls he bothered to entertain could ever think to do.

Turns out, she was rather good at playing games. She knew a few tricks, without having to be taught.

Tora pursed his lips thoughtfully. Ah, but she had that _independent_ streak of hers, now didn't she? That made things both more difficult _and_ more interesting. There had to be a way to get past it, to bend her will little by little. To break her, even if gradually. He knew there was a way, for him there was _always_ a way, he just hadn't quite figured it out yet.

So far, when she barked, he barked back. When she bit, he bit back. They were essentially no better than two wild dogs fighting it out to the death with each other.

Tora closed the magazine and flipped it over, eyes narrowed as they stared at the picture of a man and his dog on the back cover. He stared at it a moment too long, before tossing it away like the rest.

He had been going about this all wrong. After all, a dog can't tame another dog. That was the man's job. But he'd been wasting his time fighting for control as if he didn't have any over her, when in fact, he did. He always had, he just hadn't been utilizing it.

What Nakajima had told him was true, she wasn't his pet... But that didn't mean he couldn't wear her down with some proper training. All he had to do was put her in a position where she had to follow his orders, whether she wanted to or not.

Now that shouldn't be too hard for him to figure out. He was the highly esteemed Student Council President of Miyabigaoka, and he had the keys to the castle – or rather, what would soon be Renei's doghouse.

* * *

A/N: Uh-oh. We've got some serious power play going on here, now haven't we? Hmmm...

To give you an idea of how much the items in the magazine cost (in usd) the watch is nearly $280,000 and the bracelets are a little over $20,000 each. Can you even imagine someone spending twenty thousand dollars on a birthday present for you, and it's not even a fancy new car, no, it's _jewelry?_

Ahem. Let the record show that I do my fair share of research for my stories.

 _US Dollars converted to Japanese Yen:_ 1 Dollar = 123.71 Yen

Here in the US, a Rolex Submariner watch costs a whopping $234,000 (two hundred and thirty-four thousand). When converted into yen, that's ¥28,948,140 (twenty-eight million, nine hundred and forty-eight thousand and one hundred and forty yen). Which seems like a ridiculous and _long_ number to me, but I guess I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the difference in how each country measures currency. Like, here in the US, a carton of eggs is just under 2 dollars. In Japan that's somewhere around 200 yen. To me, because my brain only works in dollars, that just sounds like their eggs cost 200 dollars. Lol. But then I actually look at pictures of the money and it makes much more sense.

 _Aikido_ : a Japanese form of self-defense and martial art that uses locks, holds, throws, and the opponent's own movements. (Similar but not equal to Judo, which is harsher)

I learned many interesting things while googling this kind of stuff, ^ like what the carotid arteries are and where they are located. And just to share with you, the type of hold that Ryota put Shin in that made Shin pass out is called the 'Japanese Stranglehold'. It's a really dangerous technique and should never be applied for more than ten seconds (I would think less than ten, really) the moment the body starts to go limp one should release the hold otherwise the person put in the hold may be seriously injured or even killed. Isn't that just peachy? I don't think I have to warn you not to try this at home, because you guys are smart and don't want to accidentally kill other people, right?

. . . Anyway, I'm not in any sort of martial art myself, but if I had the time and the money for it, I'd take a lot of classes because there are many different martial arts from around the world that really interest me.

And now for the heck of it though mainly because I'm bored I'll leave a reference for everyone's height so that you can better imagine them. I will go in order from tallest to shortest:

Ryota - 6 feet 4 inches of jewelry-clad manliness

Masao - 6 feet 2 inches of work-a-holic, protective big brotherliness

Tora - 6 feet of devilish handsomeness

Daisuke - 6 feet of easy-going extrovertedness

Yumiko - 5 feet 9 inches of low-tolerance-for-bullshit-(and people in general) introvertedness

Renei - 5 feet 9 inches of long silky hair and smartassedness

Shin - 5 feet 7 inches of flame-haired, sweet-toothed flirtatiousness

Haruto - 5 feet 6 inches of ebony-haired, green-eyed, puppy-like melt-your-heart kawaiiness

Kaon - 5 feet 3 inches of bitchiness

Sanyu - 5 feet 2 inches of foreignness

Nao - 5 feet of short-stacked coolness

(I added in the twins even though they haven't been in the story yet because I figured you'd want to know their height as well, and I also hinted at Yumiko's personality since I haven't talked much about her yet. Twins don't have to be similar in personality, especially when they're fraternal twins, like Yumiko and Daisuke. It'll be fun when I incorporate them both into the story. With Daisuke's inability to take most things seriously and Yumiko's low tolerance levels, I cannot wait to write out those scenes... teeheehee! Not to mention, Daisuke's teasing antics also bring out a scary side to Masao... hehe.)


	8. Student Council Secretary

Chapter Eight

Student Council Secretary

...

It was admittedly odd, not having Tora seated next to her while classes dragged on. His presence was so overwhelming that it made his lack of presence entirely underwhelming.

Renei didn't bother asking any questions about where he could be. She was, of course, curious enough to investigate after classes, but during classes she was far too busy with her own routine of taking notes and listening intently to the sensei explain their next assignment. Her reputation as a model student was important and something she needed to uphold; and to Renei, the learning environment was one to be respected, and anyone who interrupted the peace was a nuisance.

Speaking of such people...

"Pssst, oi, Kaon."

The girl in question peeked around the side of her teddy bear (who's name is Edward, Renei had come to learn). "What?" She hissed.

Her brother leaned forward over his desk in order for her to hear him better. "Why do you think the President's been absent all morning?"

Since one twin sat behind her and the other sat beside her, Renei was unwillingly placed literally in the middle of their conversation.

"I can't be too sure, but I _think_ I know why." The blonde menace replied, thoughtfully petting the top of Edward's head. "It has something to do with your girlfriend dropping out of the Student Council. I heard that Igarashi is holed up in the Student Council room with the other members as we speak, deciding who will fill her position."

Renei, unable to keep her focus directed on the lecture due to the twin's interruption, vaguely wondered about Tomu having a girlfriend. She wasn't sure how any girl could handle being with him for very long, when he had a sister as pesky as Kaon. It'd probably be hard to have a romantic moment, when that trouble maker was parading around everywhere with her stuffed bear, sticking her nose into everyone's business.

"Yayoi?" The older twin sounded surprised. "But she'd never leave her position. She loves being on the Student Council."

Kaon shrugged, obviously not caring too much about what happened to her brother's girlfriend. "She got kicked out then."

"That's just as unlikely."

"Just a heads up Tomu, you should probably be more worried about this. She'll come crying to you for comfort once it's all over." Kaon was snickering now.

"Gee, thanks for the advice, sis." His tone was duller from before. "I hope she isn't _that_ upset... I wonder why this would happen though."

"Whatever's going on," Kaon leaned back in her seat, an impish grin on her face. "the outcome is the same. There'll be a new position open on the Student Council, and every girl here will probably jump at the chance to work closely alongside the President."

They each went quiet after that, giving Renei the chance to turn her attention back on the lecture. But it was not the teacher's words, but Kaon's, which she was focused on now.

xx

"Yayoi? As in Yayoi Takarabe?"

"I don't know her full name, I just know that she is – was – on the Student Council."

Renei sat in the school courtyard underneath a shady tree with the whole Rose Picture crew. She had decided to get as much information as she could about the rumors she'd heard about whatever was going on with the Student Council, since class wasn't in session at the moment.

"If she's involved with the Student Council, then that's definitely Takarabe-san." Nao confirmed, stretching her back against Ryota's side in a cat-like manner as she reached her arms above her head and yawned. Ryota allowed the physical contact, silently leaning against the tree trunk and enjoying his yakisoba pan.

"Why are you asking about her, Renei-chan?" Haru asked, staring up at her with sleepy green eyes from where he'd laid his head in her lap. He, too, yawned after seeing the bassist do so. It seemed everyone was tired already, and the school day was barely reaching the halfway point.

"I was wondering what her position on the Student Council was."

"She's the secretary," Shin answered, right before biting down, quite noisily, on a pocky stick. He cocked his head at her when she shot him an annoyed look, and then took another out of the box. "You want one? They're strawberry coated. I ran out of chocolate this morning."

"No, thank you." She quickly raised her straw to her lips and took a sip from her milk, in order to avoid the way he tried to playfully edge some pocky into her mouth.

"Why are you interested in Takarabe's position on the Student Council?" Nao piped up again. "And why are you talking as if she isn't on the Student Council anymore? You keep saying 'was'."

Renei paused to shove Shin's hand away, causing the pocky to slip from his fingers. He made a mad nosedive for the treat. "I heard that she was either quitting, or being demoted."

"Seriously? Her?" The other girl shook her head. "That's hard to believe."

"She'd never give up that job, so then the truth must be that she's getting kicked out." Shin agreed.

"Yeah, if the rumors are even valid."

"And if they are, then that means..." Renei looked up at the leaves on the trees above her. They rustled in the spring air, creating misshapen shadowy patterns on the faces of the people below them. "...that they're going to need a new secretary."

"With the position up for grabs," Shin was eyeing her seriously. "would you be interested in taking it?"

She looked up into his eyes, the sparkling darkness of his irises a major contrast to the light gold that she was picturing in her mind. "Yes. I mean, it would be an easy way for me to keep an eye on my fiancé. Working with him would also help me in getting to know him better as a person."

Shin was protesting in a heartbeat. "Well, yeah, but, why would you want to even get to know a guy like him anyway? He's no good. Especially for you." The last part was mumbled inaudibly under his breath.

There was a pause where Renei finished off her milk, sighed heavily, and then took a deep breath in as she prepared herself to explain.

"I came to live here in order to better understand the man I am going to end up marrying. In a sense, I'm 'setting the table' for our marriage, preparing both of us for spending the rest of our lives together by trying to make us click in some way. I don't want to know nearly nothing about him before things become more serious. And besides all that, no matter how bad of a person he seems like, I'm sure there's some good in him. If it only continues to seem like there isn't... well, people can change."

She turned her face back up towards the tree tops when nothing but a tense silence followed her words. "In any case, I'm not going to change my mind about signing up for the empty position on the Student Council. I'm seeing this as an open opportunity to make another move towards him. I still feel so far away... it's as if moving here didn't even help, and I will _not_ let it be a waste of effort."

Shin finally grunted out a response. "I don't understand you at all, Renei..."

She instantly shot him a look.

"-san." He held up his hands in defense. "Renei _-san!_ "

Sighing, Renei turned her attention over to Nao. "All of that aside, I'd make a good secretary, don't you think?"

"It's the fact that you would," Nao explained. "the fact that you'd be a perfect fit for such a position, that's worrisome."

"Pardon?"

"Don't you think this is all set up a little too conveniently? This whole thing reeks of one of the President's evil plans. Things like this have happened before. And always when he wants something. He never puts forth the effort to make specific changes like this, unless he can get something out of it." Brown eyes met indigo in an attempt to convey some sort of warning. "In this case, seems like that would be you."

"You speak as if you know everything about him." Renei sounded amused. Well, she _was_ amused. They were being rather protective of her, and she was only used to Masao being that way. She wasn't sure what to think of it, but it was a little funny that their relationship with her had reached that sort of level.

"The truth is, no one does."

"And that's what makes him so formidable." Shin added on quickly.

She glanced between the two of them, considering their words carefully for a few moments.

"I know that he can be... difficult, but given that I haven't been around him as long as you, I guess that... well apparently, I don't even know the half of it."

"You don't." They agreed simultaneously.

She looked over at Ryota, who merely nodded as he chewed his food.

She gazed down at Haru, who had fallen asleep in her lap, oblivious to the conversation.

Another great sigh escaped her lips. "I am thankful for your warnings... but even so, I can't pass on an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with him. I know that things will only remain the same until I make a different move, and this could be that move."

Shin was shaking his head furiously, his fiery mess of hair swaying every which way as he did so. "Renei-san, there was a girl before you that he personally went out of his way to ask to be on the Student Council, and nothing good came of it! Last I heard, she came to the school, some sort of commotion took place, and then she left and she hasn't returned since. It's unclear what happened, but it was probably something bad."

"It was obviously all a set up, from the very beginning. I heard that the President was lusting over her and invited her over to try and make a move." Nao's eyes darkened. "Without her consent. Then her boyfriend or someone came and saved her before Igarashi could do anything, well, illegal."

Renei was taken aback by all of this, and she couldn't say she fully believed her friends. "That sounds like mere gossip to me. And besides, he may have a lot of influence, but I don't think even he is capable of doing anything illegal –"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Ryota suddenly spoke up, having finished his food by now.

She shook her head, clearly exasperated. "You too, Okimoto?" He blinked at her stoically. "I can't believe you guys..."

"Oi, give us a break." Shin said, chomping on his last pocky stick. (It was astounding how quickly he had gone through an entire box, but then again, with all this talk of Renei and the President, maybe he was stress eating) "None of us has had any sort of nice experiences with the Prez. Dude's impossible to be around sometimes, and those students who aren't sharp enough to see it are easily fooled by his perfect, pretty boy façade."

In a move that was entirely impulsive and more along the lines of what her childish self would do, Renei leaned toward him just so that she could flick a finger against his nose. He yelped, rubbing the sore spot with a pout.

"If you really were sharp, then you would have noticed by now that I am not one of the many who have fallen for his façade." And with those words, she deemed that it was time to set them all straight, for she wasn't going to change her mind. "Now, my decision is my decision. I'm going to go apply for the open position, and that is that."

Everyone was silent for a beat. And then, they all just seemed to shrug, seeing how serious she was. Shin looked rather dejected, slumping over in the grass with a string of pitiful groans sounding from his mouth. He had obviously been wanting to continue with his protests until he had changed her mind.

"I am curious though..." Renei looked down, fiddling with her straw. "And I might ask him about it, just to see how he reacts. What's the name of that girl he was supposedly after?"

xx

 _"I didn't ask you to come with me."_

 _"So? I wanted to come with you."_

 _"Let me rephrase: Yoshikawa, I didn't_ want _you to come with me."_

 _"Renei-san, that's rather rude, don't you think?"_

 _"I don't need you coddling me! My brother already does an annoyingly good job of doing that on his own..."_

 _"Just think of me as his backup whenever he's not around, yeah?"_

 _"Yeah? No. Stop following me. I'm going in."_

Tora opened the door upon hearing that last part, watching with a smirk of amusement as Renei almost bumped into him as she reached forward for the handle.

"Renei-san." He gave her a dazzling smile. In a practiced move, he bent forward and caught her hand, lifting it up to his lips. "I was hoping I'd get to see you today. In fact, I was just about to send Maki for you. Come right inside."

The sparkling smile and flowery atmosphere surrounding him dissipated the instant Shin tried to follow her into the room. Tora stopped him by blockading the doorway with his taller frame.

Shin folded his arms, obviously already in a bad mood, and Tora was just making it worse. "Can't I come in too, Prez?"

Tora regarded him coolly, golden eyes surveying the other male from top to bottom. It was rare, to see Shin Yoshikawa in a foul mood. The red head started to tap his foot on the floor, either impatient, feeling the jittery effects of one of his sugar highs, or both.

Finally, his eyes landed on the stud implanted right above one of Shin's eyebrows. With an air of superiority about him, he pointed it out. "That piercing is a dress code violation."

The guitarist balked. "Heh?"

Tora then pointed to his studded belt, and his dress shirt. "That belt is also a dress code violation, as is your un-tucked shirt and unzipped uniform jacket."

"I don't see what that has to do with me coming inside this room!"

"You will not be permitted to come into the Student Council room looking like," He made a rude gesture towards Shin with one hand. " _that_. In fact, you shouldn't have even been allowed inside the school."

Shin was stumbling for the right words to say. "But – but that's – but I –"

He always looked like this, and he'd always gotten away with it until now!

"Do I need to mention your hair color as well?" Tora's entire brow raised, as if to say 'don't make me take this a step further'.

Before Shin could do anything reckless, or collapse to the ground in a helpless heap underneath the President's intense gaze, Renei appeared from behind Tora's back.

"Yoshikawa..." She sighed, and spoke to him gently enough that it made Tora turn to look at her. "It's alright. I'll be fine on my own, it's not like you need to come with me."

Obsidian eyes looked right at her, beautiful and begging. It made her flinch – did he copy that look from Haru?

"Um, I guess, wait in the hall, if you want." She felt awkward, caught between Shin's pleading look and the strange glance that Tora was focusing at her over his shoulder. "If you can just be patient and not make a fuss about things, I'll buy you some more chocolate pocky after school."

The flame haired idiot, not really to Tora's surprise, perked up upon hearing this. A pretty girl offering him a sugary treat? That's something the guitarist was notoriously known for never denying himself.

"Deal! I'll wait right here." He was chirping stupidly at her, as if Renei was an angel and he her loyal guardian. He also gave her his usual flirtatious wink, which really shouldn't work on a woman like Nakajima, Tora knew.

And yet, across Renei's face, there flitted a small smile. "Thank you. I don't know how long this will take though, so –"

Before she got to finish, Tora pushed the door back into its previously shut position, effectively blocking off anymore social interaction between the two. Now that was enough of that.

"Tch," He grit his teeth, and spun on his heel. "that was annoying, and an utter pain to have to watch."

Renei stood there, mouth open as the rest of her sentence dwindled away into nothing. She eventually spun on her heel as well, crossing her arms and giving the blonde a 'what the heck was that for' kind of look.

Tora chuckled and ignored her glare, instead opting to walk across the room of people. Feeling that she was supposed to follow him, Renei inwardly scowled at his behavior and went after him, feeling the eyes of the other Student Council members on her as she went.

It was moments later that they ended up inside his office, where to Renei's surprise, there was a girl there sitting in a chair, waiting for both of them.

"Are you Renei Nakajima?" She questioned, her voice light and airy, reminding Renei of the sound that the wind might make when passing through reeds.

"I am. And you are?" Her eyes quickly took in the girl's appearance. Her facial features were fairy-like, her nose was tiny and upturned quite a bit, her eyes were wide and hazel, her ears were a little pointed, and her dark hair was cut into a sleek and smooth short bob, with thick bangs in the front.

She appeared to be of an average height, when she stood up to shake Renei's hand. Which of course, made her shorter than Renei.

"Yayoi Takarabe." Her face was pinched into a look of discomfort with her next words, "I was told that you will be replacing me as the secretary for the Student Council, and to introduce myself and explain to you how the job works."

Renei's hand went limp mid-shake. She turned to look over at Tora, who was gazing at the two of them like this was completely normal, like it was all going according to his plans. He met her stare blankly, and she couldn't read him no matter how hard she tried. Nor could she understand the current situation.

"I'm sorry... I thought that there would at least be a list of applicants for the Student Council to go through and interview before somebody filled the position." She pulled her hand away, looking back to the girl in front of her for answers.

"It is my understanding that the position is being held for you."

A pause. It didn't seem like Renei was going to say anything to that. And then, "Please, would you excuse me and the President for just a few moments, Takarabe-san?"

Confused, the shorter of the two women looked over at Tora for his consent to this. He had been the person she had answered to for a while now, after all, since they were on the Student Council together.

Tora just waved a hand dismissively at her. "Wait outside my office. I'll call you back in here when you're needed again."

Yayoi bowed politely and stepped out, closing the door behind her and leaving Renei and Tora alone.

Renei jumped right into things, seeing as Tora wasn't going to say a word about it. He was taking his sweet, idle time staring at her expectantly.

"I was under the impression that you were trying to avoid me and offend my morals by surrounding yourself with other women. I don't understand where this is suddenly coming from. You are aware that I will be working very closely with you?"

"Yes, I am aware."

"That we will probably be forced to spend endless amounts of time together for work purposes?"

"Yes."

Renei walked over and decided to stand directly in front of him, so that he would stop brushing off her comments in such a blasé way. "Igarashi, I don't understand your reasoning behind holding the position open for me."

He met her eyes, openly admiring the mixture of violet and indigo. "You don't need to. What you do need to understand, is the way your new job works. Which is why I have Takarabe here to show you the ropes."

"Tell me something," She said, almost like a demand. She was obviously trying hard not to display any emotion. He kept his gaze focused on her eyes still – Tora stood by what he'd told her before, she was very good at lying with her eyes. It was always her voice that gave her away, it became slightly strained when she was flooded with emotion. "did you kick that poor girl off of the Student Council?"

He leaned forward. Enough to breathe on her face. Enough to make her uncomfortable. "I did. Not that you should be complaining, Nakajima, since you're the one I'm giving her job to."

Renei wasn't too happy about the close proximity. She could smell his breath – it smelled of mint tea, something he must have had after lunch – and when he breathed out, she just so happened to breathe in and taste it for herself on her own lips. She was quick to take a step back after that.

"But," Her gaze was steady, unrelenting, searching for answers. "why are you doing this?"

Tora lifted his shoulders in a shrug, and that action alone, so casual and carefree, made her sharp eyes narrow at him in annoyance. "Who knows? Maybe you finally wore me down just the slightest bit. Maybe, I'm doing this for us."

"For us?" Her brow furrowed. "For our relationship?"

"Yes, maybe." He met her eyes, studying her reaction for a good few seconds.

She opened her mind up to the possibility of him doing something just for her, giving in to her wishes. It didn't seem all that realistic.

Tora caught the disbelief on her face, and his lips quirked as he chuckled. "It's good to know you're not stupid, Nakajima. No, I am obviously not doing this for your benefit."

Renei was quickly growing sick of speaking to him. She was finding that he often had that effect after about five minutes or so. "Then just tell me why already." Honestly, he had too much fun wasting other people's time by playing mind games with them.

"I've grown tired of Takarabe. Her handwriting has dulled overtime, her reports have been slow and sloppy as of late. She's become an unnecessary asset on the Council, and with or without you in mind, I was going to drop her regardless." He explains. "Today I had a meeting with everyone about who we should be considering to take her place. And since all of the people who were suggested did not interest me in the slightest, I thought of you." He smiled, almost genuinely at her. But there was something so fake about the perfection of his smile that she never completely fell for it. "And that beautiful handwriting of yours."

Needless to say, Renei had no idea what to say to this.

Tora continued on in the same smooth, convincing tones, "Nakajima, you are perfect for this job. I've seen your notes during lectures, and I know what your grades are. You have the work ethic we're looking for, and the skills to go along with it. All I need for you to do now is agree to take the position."

"I..." She thought back to her friend's words. How they warned her about this being a trap. Was it? Could it be? Wait, how could it be? The way he was explaining it, it made clear sense to her. This wasn't just for his benefit, it was for the benefit of the entire Student Council, for the benefit of the school. Otherwise, he surely had no reason to be considering her.

"Alright, Igarashi." Renei looked him in the eyes, those golden eyes that told no secrets but often told lies. It was, indeed, probably a bad idea to trust him. So she wouldn't. She would do things her way, not his. "In all honesty, I am interested in taking the job..."

Tora nodded, starting for the door in order to allow Takarabe back inside.

Renei moved backwards and stopped him with a hand on his arm. The contact made him shoot a look down at her hand, as if her touch had surprised him. Had he really thought things would go so smoothly? She still had more to say.

Unfortunately, Tora thought bitterly, she always had lots to say. This woman spoke her mind far too often for his liking.

"...but, not because of the way you set this up. I'm not doing this because you told me to. I'm doing it because I want to."

Tora brushed her hand off of him. "You shouldn't completely dismiss the idea of doing whatever I tell you. That is part of what everyone's job on the Student Council is." He showed off a self-important grin. "To take orders from the President."

She gazed at him, deadpanning. "Right." And made a mental note to check the rules of conduct between one's fellow Student Council members. If he started asking her to do ridiculous or inappropriate tasks, she was calling him out on it.

"Now, for the next hour, I'm going to need you to learn all that you can from Takarabe. I expect you to understand everything about being secretary by the end of that hour." He brushed past her, aiming for the door again.

"One more thing, Igarashi." Renei suddenly remembered that thing that had been bothering her, even if it probably was a fib spun from gossip spreading around the highschool. Her curiosity was hitting her full force again, and she simply had to bring it up.

"Hn?"

"Who is... Misaki?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. Turned his head slightly. Stared at her over his shoulder for no more than two whole seconds. Two whole seconds where, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Clearly, she had said something she should not have.

Then he turned back and continued to walk away. "I'm afraid I don't know anyone who goes by that name, Nakajima."

Before she could respond, argue, or anything – he opened the door, rendering her unable to poke further around on that topic when Yayoi rejoined them.

* * *

A/N: Hehehehe... Misaki was finally mentioned. Though she won't be involved in the story juuuust yet, and neither will Takumi.

Apparently, Renei feels at least a little uneasy about the fact that Tora 'went out of his way' (how suspicious?) to have a go at a random girl. It's all a mystery to her, and she doesn't like mysteries, and probably won't like that Tora's being so secretive about it. Hmm, what sort of developments could this bring about in the future?

So, yeah, well Renei is on the Student Council with Tora now. How do you think this will effect the power struggle between the two of them?

Haru: Please leave a review! *smiles big*

CK: What the - Haru?

Haru: Yes, author-chan? *sparkle, sparkle*

CK: *falls over due to cuteness overload* All Haru fans should feel obliged to write a review. Maybe even address it to Haru himself, I'm sure that'll make him... more happy than he usually is?

Shin: I want reviews too!

CK: *shoves* Quit trying to constantly be the center of attention, Shin!

Shin: *sulks* I can't help it, you're the one who made me this way...

Haru: *sticks lollipop in Shin's mouth* There there~ Cheer up, Shin-chan! I'm sure the nice people will write some reviews about you too!

Shin: Mfhnx Ha-woo (Thanks Haru)

CK: It's a wonder that you haven't gotten a single cavity yet...


	9. Blind Secrets

A/N: I'm in a terrific mood because of the reviews that I've been reading recently. And, I've decided to finally become one of those authors who mentions and answers to the reviewers in their author's notes. Well, maybe not every time but I am willing to try! I've never really done that before because I think it takes a while to answer to everyone and can distract from the story, _but_ I've suddenly changed my mind because I really just feel the need to answer to you guys as a way of expressing my gratitude to you :)

So at the end of this chapter, I will be giving all of you wonderful reviewers some recognition. Look forward to it! ;D

Update: I wanted to rename this chapter either 'Secrets', or 'Blind Spot'. So I went with Blind Secrets, which fits the purpose of the chapter just fine I think. Although something like 'Self-deception' or just 'Deception' would have worked, too.

CK:*

* * *

"What knowledge have we of anything, save through our own minds? All happenings are in the mind. Whatever happens in all minds, truly happens. He had no difficulty in disposing of the fallacy, and he was in no danger of succumbing to it. He realized, nevertheless, that it ought never to have occurred to him. _The mind should develop a_ blind spot _whenever a dangerous thought presented itself. The process should be automatic, instinctive_..."

"In any case, mere control of the features was not enough. For the first time he perceived that _if you want to keep a_ secret _you must also hide it from yourself_. You must know all the while that it is there, but until it is needed you must never let it emerge into your consciousness in any shape that could be given a name. From now onwards he must not only think right; he must feel right, dream right. And all the while he must keep his hatred locked up inside him like a ball of matter which was part of himself and yet unconnected with the rest of him, a kind of cyst."

― George Orwell, _1984_

* * *

Chapter Nine

Blind Secrets

...

It was 8:00 pm. Tora sat comfortably in his limousine, parked across the street from the maid café, 'Maid Latte'. The one that Misaki Ayuzawa, or as her customers referred to her as, Misa-chan, was employed at.

He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was that had compelled him to come here, though he had settled on the simplest answer: that it was for old times' sake, or force of an old habit. He hadn't been to see the girl in a while. Lately there were other things taking up far too much of his time... And it just wasn't as easy for him to interact with her as it used to be.

He wasn't pleased with the fact that he didn't get to have her all for himself, the hardworking Student Council President who also works in a maid café. Such an interesting woman, and he couldn't lay a finger on her. It never had settled well with him. And he wasn't quite sure of whether he had or hadn't let her go just yet ― probably lingering between the two somewhere. Although, he had pretty much forgotten about her, or at least pushed her to the back of his mind, until Renei had brought her up the other day out of the blue. And if he had been able to forget her, even for a brief time, then she was might not be so very special and intriguing after all.

Really though, he never truly, fully forgot.

Speaking of the whole Renei mentioning Misaki incident, exactly how did one girl know about the other? He was curious, and, that was the main reason behind why he was revisiting the maid café.

He knew it was an absurd thing to hope for, but perhaps Renei was secretly frequenting, or even working at, the maid café as well?

The idea was absurd, of course it was, he knew that. In truth, Nakajima was definitely not the type to ever do such a thing, but he couldn't help that the idea of so much of that sun-kissed skin left bare around ribbons and an apron, her long legs in a pair of stockings and her ample bosom accentuated by a lacy neckline, not to mention the frilly choker wrapped tight around her neck, was far too tempting to pass up. It didn't matter if the idea of it was totally pointless, because if there was even a 1% chance that he'd get to see the normally rational and scholarly Renei Nakajima dressed in a cute maid uniform, he would take it. And then take pictures for blackmail purposes. And perhaps, she could be his new replacement for the fun he could no longer allow himself to have with Misaki Ayuzawa.

 _Misaki..._

Tora observed from his car window as a raven-haired girl exited through the back door of the café to take out the trash in the alleyway. She looked the same as the last time he'd seen her, nothing had changed about her at all. A part of him had expected something to be different, after all, it had been a while, and... Well, he didn't know. He was feeling different, himself, so he had assumed she had gone through something similar.

The ravenette turned around just in time to confront a blond boy that had followed after her outside. Tora continued to watch the two together, struggling between the bittersweet feelings of simultaneous amusement and indignation, as Misaki started to yell at the other, striking up an argument. Or at least, it looked like an argument from where he was sitting, what with Misaki making large gestures and pointing at the boy in such an accusatory manner. Though the boy didn't fight back, he merely stood there and took it with his hands in his pockets and a blank expression on his face.

Takumi Usui. There was no mistaking the calm boy with the shaggy blonde hair and emerald eyes.

He was the one to come and 'rescue' Misaki from Tora, he was the one constantly at her side like a loyal knight. And he was also, as Tora had found out some time ago after doing a background check on him, the illegitimate grandchild of Richard Rachester, the Duke of the highly influential Walker family established in England.

Tora had never given the other male much thought before, other than thinking that his close relationship with Ayuzawa was... odd, to say the least. The only really noteworthy thing between the two boys was the underlying sense of rivalry hanging in the air between the them. However, Tora knew that his parents had been trying for quite some time to form a better business relationship with the Walker family. They still had yet to accomplish such a feat, mainly because they didn't have the right connections. And the Walker family was a bit... closed off.

As he continued to stare at the pair from across the street and allowed his thoughts to wander, an idea began to take place in Tora's mind. The gears inside of his head were starting to turn, and several different thoughts began to form. And as the process often goes, a few of those thoughts quickly gathered themselves up into a plan.

A plan that could work very well in his favor, if he executed it properly. He gave a slow smile, thinking himself clever for having come up with a solution to his unwanted circumstances so effortlessly, without having to waste his time pondering for hours. Sometimes, all the answers came too easily to him. And what a blessing that was, for he was not a man who liked to waste his time.

Just then, the other boy turned his head, catching sight of Igarashi's car, expensive and sleek, sticking out in such a commonplace street like a rose in a bed of thistles. His green eyes narrowed as he took in the presence of the vehicle, and though the windows were tinted, Tora had the uncanny impression that he was being stared right in the face.

He watched Usui for a few more seconds, seeing him put a protective arm around Misaki, successfully blocking her view of the limousine parked just across the road. He continued to stand there and stare at it, until finally being able to relax a little when Tora told the driver to pull away from the curb and take him home for the day.

As he drove away from the café, Tora wasn't sure how to feel about what he had just seen. Something about that girl would always grab his attention but, it was useless to focus on that now.

Instead, it seemed to be the case that her 'guard dog' could come in quite handy in the future.

xx

Renei grabbed a bottled water from the fridge, feeling especially thirsty and tired from her morning run.

It was a Saturday, which meant no school, no council meetings that dragged on, no homework (because she had managed to get it done last night), no unnecessary socializing, and most importantly: no Tora Igarashi.

He was like a slave driver, repeating orders, pushing everyone (but mainly her) to their limits. Her writing hand had never cramped up so many times before, and she was sick of typing as well. Being on the Student Council wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Every member had numerous different jobs to perform, and even though they all worked together to get things done as quickly as possible, there was just too much to do for it to feel like any serious progress was being made. Which was entirely frustrating to deal with, day after day. And she only had a few days of experience with it so far.

Overall, the main job was to make sure that the Student Council is consistently operating as smoothly and efficiently as a well-oiled machine. Which you'd think wouldn't be too hard, given the talent of everyone on the council... But things always found a way to mess themselves up one way or another, no matter the precautions that you took.

Sighing, Renei decided to give in to her sore limbs and collapsed onto the couch in the lounge. She leaned her head back against an armrest and stared at the ceiling, taking another swig of her water before screwing the cap back on and crinkling the plastic in her hands, an angry tic going off in her jaw.

Really though, it sometimes felt like most of _her_ problems, specifically, were intentionally caused by Tora. Her first day on the job had been stressful enough, what with her having to memorize the entire Student Council handbook, and the names and positions of everyone there. As secretary, it was her job to take attendance, take notes, keep an account of the minutes during every meeting, maintain Student Council files, and keep an organized record of specific information on students, festivals, fundraisers, clubs, just any event in general, the list goes on.

So it had been stressful enough in the beginning, getting used to things. But then Igarashi had to amplify the stress for her by sending her on wild goose chases, teasing her in front of the other members, and ― probably the worst of all ― finding out her tics and making sure that, if not himself, then the other members were exploiting them.

Which was why she often found the incessantly pesky Council Historian messing with her work space, rearranging things, putting things on it or taking things from it, until it was a right mess and Renei was at her wits end trying to find the things she needed and put them back in their proper place again.

She had her pride, any human being naturally did, so she wouldn't be the first to admit her imperfections. Even admitting them to herself proved a little difficult, but there was no denying the truth when you got right down to it ― Renei was a perfectionist. Especially in her work. One could even go so far as to say she was slightly compulsive about it, to the point where she didn't just _like_ for things to be orderly, she _needed_ them to be. If her environment was tidy and to her liking, then she performed her work far better. When papers weren't stacked correctly, when files were missing, when her pencils were on the wrong side of her desk... Everything felt like it was thrown off balance, like her world had just been turned too many degrees to the wrong side.

Tora and his posse had come to understand that about her, clearly. He had picked her for the job knowing that she was organized and that she payed excessive attention to detail, and that because of those things, she could make a big difference on the council, but he also took advantage of it and saw it as her weakness. It was a flaw in which he and others could repeatedly poke fun at. When she wasn't looking, she knew that he would mess around with her work space in subtle ways. And when he handed her new documents to look over, they were never in alphabetical order, so she had to take the time to search through every single one for specific names or places, before filing them. It was probably the most annoying thing in the world!

Renei dug her nails further into the half-empty bottle in her hands and grit her teeth just thinking about it. Her fiancé, and the people surrounding him, were becoming more and more intolerable by the day.

Surely though it was all apart of his plan to remove her from his life. He was still trying to get out of their marriage arrangement. And he was constantly getting on her nerves in order to make her change her mind about him and the marriage. She wasn't an idiot, she could deduce that much from his behaviors.

Or, there was also the strong possibility that he was also enjoying messing with her for fun.

Grunting, Renei dropped the water bottle and placed an arm over her face, resting her eyes for a moment. When? When would he learn that once she had made up her mind, there was no changing it? No, more than that, that she had no choice other than to keep moving forward with it? It _didn't_ _matter_ what he wanted, or even what she wanted. There were just some things in life that you didn't get to have a choice in. Some things, just had to be done, no matter what.

"Are you alright?"

She dropped her arm and sat up straight, not realizing that Masao had come into the room. Her eyes narrowed at the dead look in his own blue orbs. "Yes, yes I'm fine. You, on the other hand, look absolutely drained."

"I was up working all night at the entertainment building. We were recording at the studios there because I wanted to show everyone the progress we've been making..." He yawned before collapsing beside her on the sofa, taking care to place her feet in his lap. "I'm surprised you didn't realize I haven't been home since yesterday."

"I was busy myself, so I didn't have the time to notice."

"Busy with what?"

She gave him an odd look. "Didn't I tell you that I'm on the Student Council now?"

Masao's face lit up at the news. "No, you never told me. When did this happen?"

"A few days ago. I'm the secretary."

"And how has it been so far? I bet their productivity has increased tenfold since you joined them." He smiled, and his confidence in her abilities made her smile, too.

"It's been hard work... Despite the fact that everyone seems to know what they're doing, things don't get done as quickly as you'd expect, because there is so much to get done."

"And how is working with that fiancé of yours? He's the President, isn't he?"

Renei just about rolled her eyes at the question. She knew this was her brother's subtle way of interrogating her about how Igarashi behaved around her. Her reaction had to be something positive, otherwise, his worries would skyrocket again.

"If I'm being totally honest..." She wasn't, though, only partially honest. "It's been okay. Not great, but not bad, either. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened, we just work together now. He's a very good leader, I'll give him that." It was a bit annoying to admit it out loud but, he really was. His presence alone was enough to make everyone behave, and when he spoke the whole room silenced itself and everyone payed close attention. It was obvious he had the respect of the other students.

"One of his few good qualities..." Masao mumbled under his breath, and Renei nudged him with her foot.

"Hey. You're still not over what happened when you picked me up from the Igarashi estate, are you?"

"No." He peered at her over the rim of his glasses. "And I'm also not entirely sure that you told me the full truth when I asked you what happened between the two of you that night."

"We were simply getting to know each other."

"He could have gotten to know you from a respectable distance."

"Alright." She swung her feet out of his lap and stood up, swiping her water from the floor and taking it with her. "I'm going to shower. In the meantime, Masao, either take a nap or work on keeping your nose out of other people's business."

"We're family, we're supposed to be involved in each other's lives." He argued with a scowl.

She glanced back at him, her features morphing into one of her more wily expressions while she immediately countered, "Oh okay, if you say so. Then I'll try harder to involve myself in your personal life more as well. Tell me, when was the last time you've been on a date with someone?"

His eyes showed just a smidgen of distress inside their depths, before reverting to their usual sea of composure. "I'm far too busy for dating, you know that."

Renei nodded her head, as if accepting his point. But she was still quirking her lips in a rare, teasing sort of grin. "Well it's good that you can keep busy on your own, but we wouldn't want you to be alone forever. It's already weird enough that I'll probably be married before you, so if you don't at least have a steady girlfriend by the time you're thirty, I'm finding you a woman myself."

Masao pushed his glasses up, in a vain effort to hide how uncomfortable he felt. "...That only gives me five years to develop a close relationship with someone..."

"Isn't that more than enough time? If you're so worried about the time limit, then you had better start keeping a sharp eye out for potential girlfriends." Seeing the newly ridiculous look on his face, Renei laughed lightly. "I want to be an aunt someday, just so you know!"

Now surpassing the point of uncomfortable or startled, Masao looked panic-stricken. "Me? Having... Children?"

"Don't you want kids?"

"I've never thought much of it, I don't even have a wife to consult regarding that sort of thing yet!" Coughing into his hand, he quickly tried to divert the attention from himself. "If you want to be an aunt so badly, then wait for one of the twins to get married and have children."

"You're forgetting the fact that Yumiko is a bit prickly... I wouldn't be surprised if she's never even had a crush on anyone before, despite the fact that there are several boys I know who have been interested in her. And Daisuke..."

"He has a girlfriend."

"Correction, he's had several girlfriends. He keeps breaking up with them, then finding a new girl, before the cycle repeats all over again. He gets restless easily ― you know that. He has such a short attention span, and he's entirely too flighty and indecisive."

"I'm sure there's a woman out there in the world who'll be able to grab his attention and keep it." Masao assured, unconvincingly.

"Perhaps, but considering his track record so far I don't think that'll happen for a long while." She gestured towards him. "So _you_ have to find a girl soon, and then propose to her, and get married and have children."

Masao placed his fingers to his temple and sighed deeply. He was obviously starting to become annoyed with this topic and her insistence. "I'm married to my job and I already have plenty of troublesome kids to take care of as is. You included." He looked off to the side. "Besides, I'm not quite sure if any women would be interested in someone like me..."

"Someone like you, who is handsome, brilliant, talented, a hard worker and knows all the most effective ways to deal with kids? I'm positive that plenty of women would be interested." It had always astonished her that Masao had hidden insecurities (which may or may not have stemmed from his little brother teasing him all of the time). For the most part he was confident, but just not when it came to wooing females. And it wasn't as if he had no appeal ― he may be austere 95% of the time, but his olive skin, chocolate hair, and denim blue eyes had turned several heads before, she had seen it happen growing up with him. He could easily get a date if he actually _tried_.

"Why are you staring at me so intensely? It's making me uncomfortable." He rolled over on the couch in an effort to avoid embarrassment. "Anyway, I understand the point you've been trying to make. Maybe we don't have to be all _that_ involved in each other's lives after all. I'm taking a nap."

"Hah, seems as though I win this time." Renei couldn't help but to gloat, if only a little bit, as she stood over her eldest sibling with a smirk. He was always trying to get the better of her, teach her lessons and what not, protect her even when it annoyed her, and this time she had managed to get her own point across.

The ghost of a smile appeared on her brother's face, though she couldn't see it with his back turned to her. "I swear, sometimes you act more like me, perfectly sensible, and then you have moments where you act as idiotic as Daisuke."

"We're siblings. Is it so unnatural for all of us to share some similarities with each other?" Her voice faded away as she moved out of the lounge and down the hallway toward her room.

"I'd rather not have two Daisukes in the family... One is more than enough..." Masao muttered to himself, pulling his glasses off and setting them aside before he tucked his face into a pillow; promptly falling into an exhausted sleep.

xx

The following Monday, Renei was too busy reading over the documents she hadn't finished on Friday to realize that it was lunch time. Not that it mattered, because she didn't have the time to eat anyway; not when there was an intimidating stack of papers placed on her desk that she still had to get through before the day reached its end.

A certain guitar player entered the room right on schedule. He had recently started coming to see Renei at lunch hour every other day, whenever he wasn't already preoccupied with going to the dining hall to eat with his fan girls or going to the courtyard to eat with his band mates.

The flame-haired young man strutted into the room, carrying something in each of his hands. He angled his head toward where Renei sat at her desk, and walked over to it.

"Wow, what a pile." He whistled as he approached, nodding to the stack of paperwork in front of her.

"Hello Yoshikawa." The brunette young woman sighed, clearing half of the paperwork off the desk by organizing it quickly into a folder and placing it in a drawer marked 'completed work'. Once those papers were out of sight, she simply brushed the pile she still had yet to complete to the corner of her desk. When she finally set her eyes on Shin, she took quick note of the boxes in each of his hands and raised her brow. "You brought me lunch again?"

He smiled that crooked smile of his when he heard the pleasantly surprised tune her voice carried. "Excited, are we?" Lifting one of the bento boxes he had carried into the room with him, he set it lightly on the desk. "I hope you like dashi egg rolls."

"If you made them, I'm sure they're delicious." She opened up the box and was met with the sight of a beautiful, organized assortment of egg rolls alongside a small pile of rice. Okay, maybe she had a little time to eat...

She gave him a rare smile before digging right in.

Shin perched himself on the edge of her desk, feeling an unusual queasiness in his stomach when she smiled at him. He had yet to touch his own lunch, too lost in thought to focus on anything but the girl in front of him. Her long hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail, and her uniform looked as prim and proper as ever, but something was off about her. She looked a bit paler than usual, and was moving slowly as she ate her food. He had to wonder if she was getting any rest between her usual classes and her Student Council work. He doubted that she was the type of person to allow herself short breaks because that would 'throw her off schedule', and he also doubted that the President would allow her to take any breaks anyway.

With a quick glance over to the other end of the room, he searched around until he found the door that lead into the President's office. He wondered what the blond was up to these days. If Shin were being totally honest, he wasn't here just to spend lunch with Renei. He liked to... check up on her, on behalf of everyone in Rose Picture. Ever since she had talked to them about becoming the Secretary, and the evil plans of Igarashi's past, they worried about her. The circumstances of her becoming the Secretary so easily only raised everyone's suspicions even more, and so, he had to make sure that the President was keeping his filthy hands to himself.

"Renei..."

With a mouthful of food, she wasn't capable of correcting him for not adding on the 'san' this time. But she did glance up and give him a warning look.

He didn't feel like correcting himself. "How has it been, working on the Student Council, and with the Prez? Do you ever feel like, I don't know, maybe it was a trick after all?"

Indigo eyes narrowed at him, and the girl swallowed so that she could speak. "...I assure you that I am more than capable of handling my own job, as well as handling my own relationships, Yoshikawa." Honestly, he was as bad as Masao when it came to butting into her personal life. She didn't understand why they were so concerned... weren't they aware that she was a fully capable young woman? It wasn't easy to get the better of her.

Shin frowned at her when she tried to brush him aside like that. It kind of stung a little, after all, he was just trying to look out for her! "Hey, I was only asking how things are going. This all just seems like a lot of work. Every time I come to see you, you're busy with something or other. Aren't you feeling a little overwhelmed?"

"You don't need to worry about me." She stated firmly, with a sense of finality that made him hesitate to continue asking her questions.

Hesitate, but persist in asking nonetheless. "Is that because you don't want me to worry about you, or because there really is no reason to be worried?"

"That isn't any of your business."

"It is, actually."

"Why?"

From where he sat atop her desk, it was easy for him to lean down into Renei's personal space, meeting her eyes directly, pointedly. He really didn't know how to deal with girls as difficult as her. Most girls weren't difficult when it came to interacting with him. And for some reason, he wanted Renei to learn to confide in him. "Because I'm your _friend_ , alright? And friends always have each other's backs."

Renei avoided his eyes, instead opting to look over at the wall and stick another egg roll in her mouth, shoveling some rice in as well, so that she was unable to speak. If Shin didn't know any better, he'd say she was pouting.

He continued to stare, silently pressing her to open up to him more, but his gaze couldn't stay in one place for very long. Dark eyes traveled down to her fingers, eyeing the delicate, sophisticated way in which she held her chopsticks and brought them up to her lips... There was a piece of rice stuck at the corner of her mouth, he noticed, and unconsciously he lifted a hand to brush it away...

He froze when someone cleared their throat behind him, a chill running down his spine.

"Yo, Prez!" Shin didn't have to look to know who it was, and he moved back and turned quickly to greet the taller boy in a falsely cheerful tone.

Tora stood there with arms folded, glancing between the two of them with an unreadable expression, eyeing Shin's left hand in particular, as it was the one that had been inches away from touching Renei's lips. The young woman, oblivious to such a fact, looked up curiously to see why he had come over.

"Can I help you?" The blond smiled politely at the red haired boy, but it looked as if it his face was straining a bit from the act. Renei, for a while now, had gotten the feeling that Tora and Shin didn't exactly get along with each other... there was a lot of tension in the air between them that often came out of nowhere. She wondered why that was, but perhaps it was better not to know?

"Actually, yeah." Shin looked down at Renei, who looked up at Tora, silently trying to tell him with her eyes that she had no part in this, whatever it was. She had done nothing wrong, but then, she was also pretty sure that Shin hadn't done anything wrong either. "You could tell me why you've been bombarding such a cute girl with so much damn paperwork. Seems like you're purposely trying to wear her out, if you ask me."

"No one asked you!" Flushing in mortification at the 'cute girl' part, Renei's eyes switched over to shoot a sharp glare into the side of Shin's skull, which he took no notice of.

Tora was silent for a bit, his lack of reaction being more disconcerting than anything. And then, something like a breath of laughter escaped him, briefly; there and gone in the next second.

"No need to fret, Yoshikawa." His tone was all daffodils and rainbows, but his eyes were alight with playful fire ― flames that had the power to spread rapidly and burn down whole cities and forests and anything else that came into their destructive path. "If I were really trying to wear her out, there are certain methods which I far prefer to this..." He nodded to the stack of papers on her desk, a sly smirk showing the true meaning behind his words.

Shin sputtered momentarily, eyes widening slightly, before they narrowed and he made a low, grumbling sound in the back of his throat; gritting his teeth and standing up from the desk in order to size the other guy up. "I know you two are engaged, but that doesn't mean that you can―"

"Igarashi." Closing the lid on the box lunch and setting it and the chopsticks aside, Renei leaned back into her chair, crossed one leg over the other, and raised her eyes to meet Tora's gaze, annoyed. "I don't mean to be rude, but we are trying to enjoy our lunch here. There is no rule against that, so tell me, was there any real point to your sudden interruption?"

"Nakajima." There was a certain casualness to his voice now that eradicated the suggestiveness hanging in the air mere moments ago. "In fact, I do need you to take a break from your babysitting long enough to run an errand for me." Pulling a wallet from his jacket pocket, Tora plucked a few bills from it, and tossed them onto the desk. "I'm in the mood for Italian today. Nothing too heavy, however."

Renei continued to stare at him rather harshly, and reluctantly took the offered money. Meanwhile, Shin gaped between the two of them, the look on his face displaying every displeasure he was currently feeling.

He started to loudly protest, "Are you... kidding me?! You're buying his meals for him, on top of everything else? Why would you conform to that?!"

"Yoshikawa, calm down, it's not like it's money coming out of my own wallet. And didn't I just finish telling you that my business isn't yours, so you don't need to worry about it?" The brunette sighed, maintaining a certain level of dispassion, even if she was not at all pleased with her duty as 'lunch lackey'.

Shin turned his attention to the smirking President. "You and I both know that she's more than just an errand girl. C'mon Prez, you're obviously not doing anything right now so why don't you just get your own lunch? Or are you really _that_ lazy?"

"It isn't laziness." Renei clarified, frowning slightly. She wasn't defending Tora, by any means... Rather, she was correcting a misunderstanding, that's all. "The reason I usually get his food for him is because he's always too busy to do so." She gave Shin a particularly stern, annoyed type of look. "If he really was just being lazy, I would make him go get it himself."

Tora snorted at the fact that she thought she could 'make' him do anything. Luckily, this went unnoticed by her, or else she would have turned her castigating onto him. And he was rather enjoying how the flame-haired idiot was the one getting the brunt of it right now.

Before this could turn into an even more ridiculous argument, Renei stood from her seat and started making her way for the door. Shin followed after her, trying to explain himself, but she wasn't hearing any of it. Which she did appreciate his friendliness on some level, it really did annoy her when he acted like he knew what was best for her, when he acted like he _knew_ her at all. They had only been acquainted with each other for a short while, and she was only just coming to terms with the fact that he was her friend. But, even if they were friends, being friends with someone didn't necessarily mean that you knew everything about them, or that you should jump in at any moment and take care of everything for them.

She wasn't used to people outside of her family being so... involved, with herself and in her life. And she wished he wouldn't argue with her. It wasn't his place to do so.

"Hey! Watch where you're going you дурак!"

Renei found herself pulled out of the way just in time to miss the hand that was about to slap her across the cheek.

She blinked rapidly, looking first back at Shin, who had been the one to pull her out of the way and now held her close to his chest, and then down at the person who had tried to slap her.

She was met with the startling image of aquamarine eyes and a furious scowl.

"Excuse me?" It took her a moment, but she finally registered the words the other girl had spoken.

"I _said_ to watch where you're going." The girl repeated, smirking when she added on her last word, which obviously wasn't in Japanese. "дурак."

Renei, realizing who it was she was talking to now, pulled out of Shin's protective grasp in order to properly face the much, much shorter young woman. "I apologize, I didn't see you there." She was wondering what 'дурак' meant, but judging from the way it was said, it was probably some sort of insult.

"Are you trying to mock my height?!" Obviously, this girl liked to jump to conclusions and had quite the short temper.

"Not at all."

The two stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment; one of them fuming and the other staring back calmly.

"Oh, da? Really?"

"Really, Rulin-san. I would never purposely mock another student."

The other girl folded her arms, looking Renei up and down with her icy glare. "How does an дурак like you know my name?"

Just as Renei was opening her mouth to answer as calmly and politely as she could again, despite wanting nothing to do with the girl in front of her, another voice cut in.

"I was the one to tell her about you, Sanyu-san."

All eyes turned to Tora, as he stepped in front of Renei and produced one of his more dazzling smiles. His voice, when he had spoken Sanyu's name, was soft and honeyed, and as he usually did, he reached forward and took the other woman's hand in his, lifting it to his lips and pressing them gently against her skin. The whole scene made him appear as though he were a kind-hearted prince, (when really he was the evil overlord that princes usually tried to defeat). It made Renei twitch, and Shin roll his eyes, muttering something, probably an insult, under his breath.

"Tora-san, мое золото!" Sanyu did not try in the least to conceal how delighted she was to see him, as she moved closer to him and her hands caressed down the length of his arms. Being as petite as she was, she barely reached the center of his chest, but the height advantage he had over her obviously didn't bother her, and it didn't stop her from touching him freely wherever she _could_ reach. "Did you really tell her all about me? All good things, I bet!"

The smile remaining on Tora's face could have out-shined the sun itself, it was so bright and warm. "Of course."

A giggle of joy burst from the attractive half-Japanese, and she turned to place his arm around her shoulders, which Tora surprisingly allowed, before regarding Renei once more. "My apologies for being so angry with you. I didn't realize you were acquainted with Tora-san."

Renei felt Shin tense beside her, so she was glad to know that at least she wasn't the only one who thought it strange that Sanyu had been ready to slap her across the face one moment, and then was all cute and apologetic not even two minutes later.

"And again, I apologize for almost running into you." Renei's eyes, the liars that they were, showed a politeness in them, a lack of the confusion and irritation that she actually felt. But Tora seemed to notice how she was really feeling, if the knowing smirk he was shooting her was any indication. And she only became even more irritated when she saw his sunshiney grin morph back onto his face when Sanyu looked up at him again.

"Well, it was nice that you two could finally meet, but I think Nakajima should get going if she is to bring us our lunch before the break is over." Tora turned, leading Sanyu further into the Student Council room, lowering his arm around her until he had a secure hold around the tiny curve of her waist. His hand, Renei couldn't help noticing, looked large and out of place, resting there. "Let's go to my office while we wait, hm?"

Sanyu giggled eagerly and allowed him to lead her into his office, where the door closed shut behind them.

It was at this moment that Shin decided to make a sarcastic statement. "Ah, my bad, Renei. I guess he really is too busy to get his own meals... Or rather, the meals he shares with other girls."

"I could've done without you making that remark," quipped Renei, as she spun on her heel and exited the room. "and it's Renei- _san_ , remember?"

xx

Tora stared down at the plastic food tray placed in front of him on his desk. On said food tray, there sat a large cheeseburger with a side of fries. Where she had even gotten this junk, he didn't know. But it looked suspiciously unhealthy.

"Nakajima..." He said her name slowly, careful to enunciate every sound. "Do you know what _Italian_ food is?"

She gave him an innocent look that could have fooled anyone, save for him. "I thought you asked for some classic _American_ food? Burgers and fries are as classic as it gets."

His eyes flashed, but he said nothing. Beside him, Sanyu was staring calculatingly at the burger.

"What kind of burger is it?" She finally asked.

"Beef, from a cow."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Sanyu lifted up a bento box that had been sitting in her lap, and therefore had been out of sight until now. "However, I think I'll stick to eating these egg rolls. Although I was craving Italian, these are also delicious."

This time, it was Renei's eyes that flashed, but she managed to keep her mouth clenched shut.

Tora took his chance and smirked in her direction. "Is... Something the matter?"

"Hardly." Came her cool reply.

He eyed her for a moment more, that smirk turning up the left corner of his mouth, taunting her, before he tilted his head back down to the tray of food. It was doubtful that he was going to eat the burger, but at least Renei wouldn't be eating her lunch either.

Renei found herself temporarily unable to leave the office. She felt glued to the spot, eyeing the way Tora simply just _allowed_ Sanyu to reach out and hand-feed him a french fry. He took the fry as far as he could into his mouth and then nipped her fingertip, causing her to withdraw her hand and smack him playfully on the leg.

The two of them looked like absolute дуракs (yes, she looked up what that word meant).

She decided to clear her throat when she realized that Sanyu had yet to remove her hand from his thigh. Her mind came up with a few choice words to call that woman, not a single one of them being anything good. "Well, if you won't be needing anything else, then I'm going to go finish the paperwork on my desk."

Tora waved her off without a care, and she left the room with ice in her veins, making a valiant effort to close the door as softly as possible, as opposed to slamming it until it broke off its hinges behind her.

xx

It was getting late, school had ended almost an hour ago, and she was not supposed to be here.

Here, as in, Tora's private office. Which, he usually kept locked after hours, but she had walked back into the Student Council room (returning because she had left her bag behind ― it had been a long, grueling day, after all) to find that it was opened to a crack.

And now she found herself snooping around in his things for some clue as to who 'Misaki' was.

Actually, just the other day she had decided that she wasn't going to pry further on the topic of this Misaki person, because even though she was curious, she felt guilty about mentioning it to him in the first place. For all she knew, the rumors could be completely wrong, and Misaki could have been the only woman that Tora had ever actually loved, and that love could have ended in heartbreak, and perhaps that was the reason why Tora could be so callous. Or, Misaki could have been a dead friend. Or an ill friend stuck in the hospital. Some sort of sensitive topic like that, which Tora didn't want to talk about openly. That gave an explanation as to why he lied about not knowing her; and it was only obvious to Renei that he had, of course, lied about it.

However... Now things were different. Now, she didn't care if there was a possibility of it being a sensitive topic. She wasn't feeling guilty anymore. She just wanted answers. And also a way to get back at him for all the hell he'd been giving her lately.

As she searched around the room, she couldn't help but notice, and appreciate, that Igarashi kept everything quite tidy. Due to this fact, she almost felt bad about rummaging through everything. Not that it mattered ― she would take great care to put everything back in its rightful place anyway.

Most of the papers she was finding were useless to her, mainly just documents he'd had to approve with his signature. There were also a few thank you notes written to him on behalf of the school's faculty, which she thought was weird, but then again it was part of his job to interact with the teachers and keep them well-informed about everything going on in the school. So perhaps it wasn't that weird. And he came from one of Japan's most influential families, too, so the teachers had a priority to stay on his good side. All of that aside however, the thought of anyone thanking Tora for something he had _helped_ them with, was a foreign concept to have to accept.

She was struggling to find something of interest, a file, a note, a picture. Anyone would think, based on how spick-and-span the guy keeps his office, with everything easy to access, that he was someone with no secrets. Nothing to hide. An open book, welcoming you to read as freely as you wish.

But Renei knew better than to fall for any of that. She figured that this room was a lot like him ― everything was set up to look a certain way on the outside, all innocent, harmless, and easy-going, while on the inside there were darker depths than anyone could ever imagine, where all sorts of things were hidden.

Somewhere among the desperate searching, there was a feeling beginning to nag at her, making her feel uneasy. This sort of thing... It was crazy, right? Had she really stooped so low? And all because of someone like him? She had been telling herself up until now that since she was his fiancée, she had every right to research a rumor that involved another woman and himself. That, since she was his fiancée, she technically deserved answers more than anyone else did. But wasn't that just an excuse she was using in order to not feel guilty anymore about invading his privacy? She knew better than that. She _was_ better than that.

Renei straightened up from behind his desk, frowning to herself for a moment. A long sigh escaped her once she finally found it in herself to turn around and leave.

"President!" Her voice emitted an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak when she noticed that Tora was leaning against the door frame, just... standing there, for who knows how long, with his arms folded patiently and a thoroughly entertained expression on his face.

"Find what you were looking for?" His tone was quiet, with amusement behind it.

Feeling much like a deer in the headlights, Renei stupidly blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I was looking for you." She cringed after she said them, her mouth clamping tightly shut afterward.

She had never had to lie under this sort of pressure before, because she had never been foolish enough to get caught doing anything she shouldn't be doing. Not in a long time, at least. Heck, she couldn't even recall the last time she'd broken any rules! Perhaps... When she was four, and her father caught her when she had accidentally broken his favorite violin... In any case, maybe it was because of the way Tora was looking so intently at her, or the fact that she'd been caught, but her heart was thumping wildly inside her chest, just like that time when she had broken the violin.

"You were looking for me..." A blond eyebrow rose in suspicion. "In my desk drawers?"

Renei attempted a smile, which turned out rather small and wry, as her brain grasped at straws for a proper, believable answer for him. "Well wasn't that much obvious? But clearly you were not there, because you're standing right here in front of me. Good thing I found you, I was just about to start searching somewhere else. Maybe a cupboard or, between the cracks of the couch."

Tora blinked once. Twice. He analyzed her with his eyes, narrowing them in a way that made her nervous. "Are you... Trying to make a joke, Nakajima?"

She withheld from frowning and mentally slapped herself. In her awkward state of not knowing what to do, she had tried to lighten the mood in order to ease the unwelcome tension in her body that was causing her to stand there as rigidly as possible, and breath as shallow as possible. Her heart was still hammering away, guilty little thing that it was. "Well, yes, but I suppose it wasn't terribly funny..."

"I don't think I'm the first to say this," He raised one hand to his mouth, smirking into it as if he were really enjoying himself. "But your joke telling skills are deplorable."

"I'm well aware of what they are, Igarashi, but thank you so very much for the clarification." Briefly forgetting her nervousness, she rolled her eyes at him, newly exasperated.

"Also," He pulled away from the door frame, moving toward her with all of his usual panther-like grace. It was unfair, how he made such a mundane thing as _walking_ look somehow, powerful and regal. "Would you mind telling me what you were doing, rummaging around inside my office after hours?"

Clearly, there was no way to avoid this situation. Renei felt that the truth was the only way she was getting out of this, but she somehow couldn't find the best words for it at the moment. She had to regain her composure first and foremost, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. "I wasn't _rummaging_... I was searching, here and there, for something."

"Very well. What were you searching for? If you've gone to this much trouble, it must be important." Voice cool and hands tucked calmly into his pockets, he stopped in front of her, and waited.

Renei was usually in control of the situation. She didn't feel comfortable unless she had control. And right now that was something she did not have, and Tora's eyes ― an intense, intrusive gold like the sun ― were only making her feel all the more panicky and in equal measure, extremely annoyed.

It had been a long day for her. She had barely eaten anything, thanks to Tora's little Russian doll, and she was really exhausted, and everyone knows that it's hard to act like your usual self when you're feeling hungry and sleep-deprived at the same time. She was finding it harder and harder to collect herself. Especially with him hovering so close, breathing the same air as her. The guy really didn't care about anyone's comfort but his own, did he?

"I was just wondering..." She nipped her lip in frustration, an action that the blond young man followed with his eyes, but she didn't notice because she was too busy avoiding his sharp gaze.

"Wondering?" He took a step closer, and she thought about pushing him back. It was even harder to breathe now.

"Yes, alright, I got curious. I just wanted some answers, and―" She bit down on her lip even harder, in mixed parts the frustration from before and also uncertainty, because she had no idea how he would react when she, for the second time, brought up what he clearly did not want to talk about. Oh, how she _loathed_ not knowing what was about to come next. It was aggravating, worrying, and just plain unpleasant. She was an idiot, truly she was, for putting herself in such a situation. This was her fault, after all. Her cursed her stupid pride, and curiosity.

"Nakajima."

Steeling herself for whatever he was going to say, she managed to look up and meet those burning eyes. She couldn't read them at all. And it troubled her to no end, because eyes like that, that shined so brightly, shouldn't be able to leave you so in the dark.

He was standing even closer now, only a little more than a few inches away. He didn't say anything for a moment, lost in a pause as his gaze settled lower on her face for some reason, perhaps... Was he staring at her lips? A sudden jolt of dread shot through her― he was― he was going to kiss her?!

Renei stepped back, right as the boy in front of her reached up a hand and lightly, smoothly moved his thumb across her lips. It wasn't what she had expected, but it still shocked her, and her eyes widened as he looked back into them.

"Biting your lip like that," Tora's voice was as soft as his touch, both of them like mere whispers of silk. "Doesn't it hurt?"

Reaching up, Renei knocked his hand away and took a step back. He smirked, as if such actions were childish. She frowned in return, making a mental note to try to never bite her lip again, if he was going to react like _that_ to it. "I think," Her voice was curt. "I'll be taking my leave now." _Don't touch me so freely without my permission,_ She thought angrily to herself. _Don't you dare ever tease me like that again._ But that's what he wanted her to say.

The rough awkwardness of the way she posed her statement, and the wariness of her stance, told him that she wasn't her usual sure self. Of course, Tora had already noticed that from the moment she had squeaked in surprise when she saw him standing in the doorway.

His lips curved as he thought about the vulnerable position she had placed herself in. Vulnerability was... something he could always work with. "Ah, but before that, you still haven't told me what you were searching for."

Renei scowled at his change in tone ― how much did he plan to exploit her in one day? Such a manipulative guy... She should just get this over with, and tell him the truth. It was the only way to move this along faster, without risking any more 'incidents' like the one from a minute ago.

"I was trying to find information," She lifted her chin, locking eyes with him, just to prove to herself that, even though she felt a little ashamed of her prying, she could still act as if she couldn't care less about it. "On a girl named Misaki."

It came as a surprise when the blond did nothing more than shrug in response to that, as if it was of no real concern to him that that was the case. "I figured as much."

"Glad we got that settled then." Renei cleared her throat after a moment, moving forward to pass him and get to the door.

Tora turned and grabbed her arm once she was close enough. She met his eyes, carefully examining him, but he wasn't letting her figure out what he was about to do. "If you want," His voice was hushed, his expression back to being unreadable again. "I can show you what it was that you came in here to find."

Renei was still wary, but also, still curious. Her brow quirked up in sudden interest. "So you admit to knowing someone named Misaki, then?"

"I didn't just know her." Seeing that she would stay to find out more, he let go of her arm and moved towards the door. "She was... in Maki's own words, the first woman I've really been into. And in my own words, an object of interest."

Just as she was about to state that calling a woman an object was offensive, he looked at her expectantly. "This way."

Questioning whether she had any sense of self preservation, she followed after him. Out into the main room again, across the tiled floor, past the large arched windows, the different desks set about the room, and over to a wall. A wall where a lone dart board was hanging. Renei looked around, but there was nothing else he could possibly be wanting her to notice in this part of the room.

"Igarashi." She stopped walking while he approached the board. "I'm not interested in playing a game to get the answers to my questions."

He ignored her, lifting the dart board off of the wall completely. Renei's lips parted, surprised to see such a simple hiding place.

Tora turned the round board over in his hands, gazing for a moment at the picture taped to the back of it, before peeling it off. He turned, re-situated the board on the wall, and walked back over to Renei, not missing the look on her face.

He smirked, arching an eyebrow at her nonplussed expression. "What, were you expecting me to open up a secret wall revealing a hidden safe?"

Renei flushed. "That _is_ more your style, wouldn't you say?"

"And here I thought hiding places were supposed to be unpredictable." Tora spoke dryly. "Here, take it already, if you're so curious." He held the picture out for her to take.

She'd come this far, so it only made sense that she take it. The moment she had a hold of it, Renei's eyes left Tora and moved to scan over his supposed 'secret' that she now held in her hand.

In the photo stood a girl with silky black hair reaching a little past her shoulders, and caramel brown eyes. She was smiling towards the camera, not really taking on any sort of pose.

This must be Misaki, then. She looked like your average high school girl.

But there was something so obviously not average about her, something in the photo that was very off-putting to Renei. That is not to say that the girl herself was off-putting, because she wasn't. Her outfit was.

She was wearing a maid uniform.

If she hadn't have been wearing such clothes, Renei would have wondered what it was about her that caught Tora's attention. But she was wearing such clothes, and the clothes were obviously the main reason behind Tora's interest. Not to mention, the girl herself was very pretty.

She said the first thing that came to mind. "You're perverted."

There was no denying the smirk in Tora's tone, and if she looked over at him, she knew exactly what his eyes would look like, too. "Is that what you want to call it? I merely appreciate whatever I find to be most interesting in a woman."

Renei felt a flood of different emotions, none of them pleasant. "You showed me this just to anger me." She waved the picture in the air between them, her words biting the air with a cold snap.

"I showed you what you wanted to see. The way I see it, you should be much obliged," He took a step toward her, and she noticed a canine glinting somewhere in his deceptive smile. It was sharp, just like his next words, "But if you are so displeased with what you've found, then you're more than welcome to call off our engagement. After all, you wouldn't want to deal with such... perverse interests, would you?"

Now she was just staring at him with disgust _and_ incredulity. He got close enough to whisper that last bit in her ear, and she shivered, despite herself. "You think you're so clever," She pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him back like she'd been wanting to do earlier when he'd gotten so close to her. "However, it will take more than that to change my mind."

He surprised her with the tight grip of his hand around her arm, his voice lowering to a calm, but firm drone, "How much more?" He inquired slowly.

With her other hand, she crumpled the picture into her fist, and let it fall to the floor. "I suppose you'd have to fall deeply in love with me, to the point where I couldn't stand it."

Upon seeing the widening of his cold and serious eyes, and feeling the loosening of his frustrated grip on her arm, she felt most of her confidence come back. "And we both know that that is impossible for someone like you, now isn't it? Igarashi?"

Tora's teeth grit, and he dropped her arm as if it was suddenly burning his hand. He did not like having to come to terms with the fact that she refused to be swayed, no matter how he pushed her to her every imaginable limit and beyond. Any _normal_ person, would have given in by now. "You think I'm so twisted," He all but snarled. "though it's plain to see that you're the _more_ twisted one, Nakajima." His eyes narrowed. "You'd rather be with a man who thinks nothing of you, than with one who loves you? That is the very _definition_ of twisted."

Renei held her ground, though her heart was hammering inside her chest like trapped hummingbird once again. When his voice sounded this low and dangerous, and his jaw was set and those eyes were as fierce as a tiger's, it made her feel the urge to run far away, and fast. "Maybe that's true. But if it is, then fine. I'm okay with that."

She brushed past him, grabbed her school bag from where she had left it at her desk, which was technically what she had come here for in the first place, and moved toward the doors.

"What do you mean?" He brought her to a halt with those few words, making no further efforts to move over to her again, or stop her in any other way.

She turned and fixed him with a level gaze. "I mean that I'd rather struggle through hell with you, than float around in a happy, carefree dream, only to be forced to wake up someday and realize that it was never real." She lightly shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, you can be pretty hard to put up with... But the one good thing about you is that you're honest."

His eyes widened again, and she hadn't meant to surprise him. "I am... Not quite that."

"No," Renei sighed, wishing there was an easy way to explain it. But, complicated people require complicated explanations. "What I mean is, you are fake to a point, but you are also honest to a point. Most of the time, you're putting on an act for the entire world around you. But in my personal experience, your true intentions are clear, for the most part. You don't pretend to agree with me and my terms, you don't lead me on; because it's not as though you exactly hide the fact that you are seeing other women..."

He smiled, something glinting and sly. "It bothers you though, doesn't it?"

"You already know full well that it does." She gave him a pointed glare. "And while it may be annoying that you are a perverted, selfish, arrogant womanizer, all I'm pointing out is, at least you own up to it. Honesty isn't always pleasant, but to me, it's necessary. You've never pretended to be the 'man of my dreams', you've never promised to give me everything that I want when you aren't actually capable of fulfilling that promise. You have been nothing but direct with me about what you are ― a misogamist ― and what you want ― the freedom that comes from not being tied down to one woman alone. You only ever follow your own agenda, and I get it. I'm not happy with it, but I get it."

 _And if only I could follow my own agenda too, but lord knows, I just... Can't._ Renei unhappily mused to herself.

"You really are twisted." Tora abruptly announced, folding his arms and gazing at her as if it were for the first time. "You say all of that, yet your eyes are expressing something else entirely."

Panicking, Renei blurted out something stupid, again. Two times in one day, that was two times too many for her to not be thinking before she spoke. "I may be twisted, but unlike you, I don't blame others for it."

"What?" Tora's tone had sharpened considerably.

"You..." Renei swallowed. She had already said it, so there was no taking it back now. And besides, it would distract him, right? "Blame your parents, don't you? For being the screwed up person that you are today?"

He didn't bother answering her, mainly because he didn't want her to hear him say it out loud. That she was right. That they both knew, she was right.

Quiet and slow, he posed her with a serious question. "Why don't you?"

Renei's hands tightened around her bag. Oh, he didn't even know the half of it. And she never planned on telling him.

"Well, I just understand that... although, part of me does want to put blame on someone else... another part of me knows that I should take on some of that blame too. And the same thing goes for you and your parents, or anyone, really."

Before he could respond, she quickly grabbed the handle of one of the doors and opened it, preparing to make a hasty exit. "I mean, we _let_ ourselves become as messed up as we are today, didn't we? We didn't stop it, we allowed it to happen."

She looked back at him. Tora was looking as if he didn't believe a single word of it, and on top of that, he looked... dangerous. Dark. Enraged. There was a storm in his eyes, like his mother's, and an angry quiet about him, like his father. He didn't want to accept it, but... He _was_ both of his parents. Just like she didn't want to acknowledge parts of her mother in herself, he was trying to ignore the same fact, too.

In this small way, they were both cowards.

Renei let out a shaky breath, feeling a headache coming on. God, she was such a hypocrite, for calling him out on stuff she struggled with as well. "There's only so many times you can blame others and use excuses before you realize that, in all actuality, _you_ are the only person who has full control over yourself and your life. The actions that you take, the decisions that you make, the thoughts you create, they're all _yours_. So it's your own fault if you decide to be a certain way. You can't blame someone else for who you are."

But she wanted to. And she knew he did, too.

Hurriedly she walked out the door, but not before adding on the rest of what she had to say to him... Which was really what she had been trying to tell herself, all these years, but could never fully come to accept. This was the first time she had ever managed to admit it all out loud, and it wasn't even directed at herself. "Igarashi... You shouldn't hold a grudge against your parents for something that wasn't entirely their doing." With a sharp tug, she pulled the door shut behind her, knowing she had said too much, but too caught up in her own emotional turmoil to care.

She had left not a moment too soon.

Tora couldn't believe the gall of that girl. Clenching teeth and fists, he turned around, stormed his way over to Renei's desk, and knocked all of the contents off of it with one sweep of his arms. She had left him, with a few words, shaken.

And oh, how _dare_ she? How the hell dare she?!

Speaking as if she knew him, and his parents, too. She knew nothing. She had... _no idea_.

Her preachy words... meant nothing to him. He would double his efforts to get rid of her. No, triple them. Whatever it took.

If she wouldn't call off the engagement, then he would find other means to do so. There were other people he could get to cooperate.

Tora pulled his phone out, swiftly dialing a number. He ignored the way his hands shook. This was, of course, the last person he wanted to talk to right now, (aside from the girl who'd just left the room) but this was necessary for his plans.

"Father. Shut up, I know how busy you are." His voice was like a red hot dagger as it cut through flesh. Not pretty. Not sweet. Nothing sugarcoated about it. "I have a proposition for you. And I know it's one you and mother will like, because it involves the Walker family."

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A/N: дурак (durak): Russian for idiot/fool/stupid/imbecile (basically the same meaning as 'baka' in Japanese)

мое золото (moye zoloto): Russian for 'my gold'. A pet name that Sanyu uses to refer to Tora. It fits, because he has golden eyes, and he's rich, so it's kind of a superficial endearment that she calls him, but an endearment nonetheless.

(Btw, most of this author's note will just be answering reviews:)

And lol, Renei is going to be pretty upset (definitely not as pissed as Tora just was, but I digress) when she comes into the Student Council room the following day and sees all of the stuff that used to be on her desk, strewn across the floor in a huge mess. Oh won't that be just a blast to reorganize? Hehe I'm evil. I blame Tora mostly, though. He is the most evil.

I know I said at first that Renei, along with Masao, both have OCD, but I recently found out that there is a difference between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. And after some light research I realized that, in Renei and Masao's case, they both have OCPD rather than OCD. To explain further and get all psychological with you guys: "...for people with OCD, these behaviors are unwanted and seen as unhealthy, being the product of anxiety-inducing and involuntary thoughts, while for people with OCPD they are experienced as _rational_ and _desirable_ , being the result of, for example, a strong adherence to routines, a natural inclination towards cautiousness, or a desire to achieve perfection."

Funnily enough, I believe I myself actually have OCPD. I have very specific routines that I stick to, involving my cooking, eating, cleaning, teeth brushing, and other methods to my everyday life. I also haunt myself with the highest ideals possible, wishing to achieve perfection at every turn. I never really became fully aware of any of this until I did all this research online. Well, the more you know!

As for my characters, I'll explain to you a bit further about how OCPD effects the two of them specifically. Masao's comes in the form of workaholism, perfectionism, and the need to have control over every situation. Renei's comes in the form of orderliness, perfectionism, finding it hard to relax and have fun and replacing leisure time with work because she feels a strong need to achieve her goals, and a strong dislike for the unpredictable because she doesn't like to not be in control of a situation (which is why she hates mysteries and needs to know everything - she likes to always be aware and prepared).

Time to answer to some reviews! Don't think I mentioned you? Well I probably did so just scroll down and read for a pleasant surprise! ^_^

Starting off with an honorable mention - **Ka-tay's mind** : You are a beautiful ray of sunshine. Your reviews always manage to put a ridiculous smile on my face that makes me look like the Cheshire cat on catnip. Lol. Thanks for all the love and support! You are lovely.

 **Crazy Shortie** : Your reviews, much like your name, are short... but just enough to make me feel how excited you are for the next chapter. You're the cutest little thing, thanks for the constant support!

 **RandomFandoms14** : This is in answer to your 'Scene with Shin. That was cute.' comment. Does that mean you're on team Shin more so than team Tora? I'm very curious about your opinion on the relationship Renei has with both of them. Do tell, do tell! :D Oh and don't worry about Renei. She'll be careful. But Tora is a bit of an evil mastermind and he is also super attractive so actually, yeah, I would worry just a little.

 **InYourNightmares** : First of all - if your username is to be taken literally, then can you please get rid of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinosaur that's been stealing my mac and cheese in my dreams for a while now? I want my damn mac and cheese! The nightmare is not being able to eat it. And then I always wake up hungry. Second of all - the fact that you're enjoying the story is good to hear! Angst and power play happen to be my forte when it comes to writing. And they are the reasons why I love Death Note so much. Lots of angst, and LOTS of power play. It's frigging brilliant. (If you haven't seen Death Note then I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you go watch it, or read the manga, or both!)

 **WhiteAngel83** : Thank you for all the reading you've been doing Angel-san! ^_^ If you're tired, I'm happy it's from staying up to read my writing because my story interests you. And, that chapter was pretty long, huh? I don't know how many words. I just know it was long. And made me want to take a nap after writing it.

 **Dancing Peony** : Hooked by the first chapter you say? 1000 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! (I mean, to me, haha) Fun fact: I don't think I'd belong to the Gryffindor house. I took a Harry Potter quiz because I'm a nerd like that and it said my house would be Ravenclaw, which makes sense to me. Though I am brave like any Gryffindor, I think before I act. On the other hand, I could very likely be a part of Hufflepuff because I'm very kind and like to make others happy. To be honest though, Slytherin really appeals to me because they seem badass and I like to pretend that I can be a little villainous ;) Also villains are hot. (Ahem, Draco Malfoy) Oh my god, TANGENTS! Terribly sorry for that. I just hope you're a Harry Potter fan, otherwise this would be quite awkward... On another note, yeah, I agree with you: Tora is undeniably hot in a very maddening way. He'd totally be a Slytherin. Just sayin'. And Renei would be a Ravenclaw.

 **DiaphanousBlack** : I understand, so it's alright. :) I'll try to update regularly so that you won't be stuck waiting all the time. Also, when I don't update this, sometimes I update the extras on my 'House, Heart' story, so you have that to keep an eye out for too. If one isn't updated, then perhaps the other will be. I'll try to update both more quickly. Also, it's so great that my author's notes have the ability to make your day. I'm so happy for that, I hope I continue to make your day and bring a smile to your face! And regarding your mention of me being able to continuously write the same story: I just have to laugh at that. Hahahaha! Seriously, I've been writing for forever and I have about over 200 novels that I have started and left unfinished. Yeah. I know. :P Fanfiction is different for me though, because the reviews help me to continue onward. They motivate me. Anyway, point is, I don't know if I deserve the kudos when I happen to share the same problem you have with getting so many new ideas that you never finish the last one you had. And hey, if you like to write, then you should do it regardless of the fact if you finish anything or not. It's a really great way to pass the time, not to mention it's also therapeutic. ^_^ Thanks for pointing out the whole 'phased vs fazed' error. I'm not sure where that error is but I would like to go back and fix it so thank you very much for pointing it out! And thank you a whole freaking bunch for your incredible review, it was such a joy to read all the way through.

 **MystearicaBlaze** : Glad that you love Renei's character and the story itself and my writing style! XD Sheesh I feel spoiled ^.^ Thank you you sweet person you. I will try my best to keep you amazed as the story goes on! And btw, Haru wanted me to tell you that he is extremely flattered that you find him precious. He also told me to give you a hug from him, so *squeeee~ze* Shin also said that he's happy you think he's pretty cute too, but then he wanted to flirt with you and things got really weird, really fast. The little punk. Oh and I'm glad that my writing could lift your spirits! :D Thanks for the reviewing!

 **Ourixenstierna** : Thank you and thank you again! I will try to update sooner rather than later. I'm doing what I can to keep myself on a regular schedule :)

 **violet167** : Tora isn't exactly going to fall for Renei quickly, but there is already some jealousy, or rather, competitiveness, forming between Tora and Shin. Hope you're enjoying it :)

 **Blondie1137** : Do you just so happen to be the blonde that was sitting with Tora in the limo? Hahaha sorry I'm just kidding. I had to come up with something clever that had to do with your username. I just had to because I like to be clever. (Although I do bet you wish you were the blonde in the limo with Tora... if only so that you could be that close to his sexiness. C'mon, we all wish for that man, it's okay, just be honest ;) Anyway, I'm glad you're keen for each update! I'm keen for another review from you *wink wink, nudge nudge, you should review more often because I love reading feedback almost as much as I love writing about Tora's evil sexiness*

 **Bailey Webster** : Thanks for saying my author's notes are hilarious! I'm glad my efforts to try to make people laugh have so far been a success. *fist pumps* YUS! And may I just say that I'm so glad you love my story? Thanks for telling me! It made my day ^_^ And btw, thanks for coming up with some shipping names. I personally favor 'Renora' And I was brainstorming and came up with 'Shinei' for Shin and Renei. What do you think?

 **RubyRadioactive5** : That 'smart, down-to-earth author' comment just put you at the top of my 'favorite people ever' list. You get a big ol' hug! *squeeee~ze* When I read your review the other day, it turned my whole day around in the best of ways and for that, I thank you.

 **Guest 1** : I want them to kiss too! But I can't let that happen yet! But don't feel alone because the suspense is killing me too! GAAAHHHH! Luckily for both of us, I had an idea a little while back that I will soon incorporate in the story which might appease the both of us for a while... or it could feel like a tease. But I am nothing if not mischievous :3

 **Guest 2** : It's always nice to see another fellow grammar nazi at work :D Thank you for pointing out the error with 'bare' and 'bear', that has always thrown me for a loop even though I know the difference between them :P Could you please point out where that mistake is in the story? Like which chapter it's in? I don't have the time to go back and re-read it all again. Also I'm lazy. But this is important because improper grammar makes me cringe.

 **Guest 3** : I will try my best to keep up the good work! You're so amazing and sweet. Making me blush with your mention of my writing being 'classy'. How did you know that was one of my favorite compliments?

I'm pretty sure I answered the rest of the reviews in forms of answering questions in my earlier author's notes, or PMing you. If I happened to miss you though, I'll make sure to get you next time if you review again. And just know that your reviews always make my day no matter what length they are or what you say :) I love my readers so much, and I'm so grateful to have such a friendly audience! Stay tuned for the next update!

Love,

CK:*


	10. Deals Pulled on Strings

A/N: Stay tuned for the Author's Note at the end of this chapter! I'm going to be answering reviews again. That's going to become a regular thing now, by the way. Or at least, it should. I dunno. Each chapter will probably end with me answering the reviews I've received, if I don't get overwhelmed with how many I need to answer haha ^_^; Regardless of whether or not I answer to the reviews though, I really appreciate those who take the time to post a comment *heart*

CK:*

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Chapter Ten

Deals Pulled on Strings

...

Tora gazed with contempt at the stark white envelope sitting on the table in front of him. His arm was thrust lazily over the back of his seat, lithe fingers restlessly moving one by one, landing with a dull 'tap' against the cushioning. His bright eyes ― appearing almost orange in the lamplight ― flickered for a moment before landing on the far wall as he became lost in thought.

He supposed it was a small price to pay. In exchange for his engagement remaining on the down low for the time being, he would still need to escort Renei to his mother's party. He would entertain her, introduce her to people, just not as his fiancée. Which was a better alternative than what the previous plan offered.

Even so, he had to remember that this was only temporary. Which was, of course, only fair ― if he couldn't offer his parents any promises, then they couldn't promise him anything either.

Which meant by no means was the engagement called off.

The only thing that had changed was that it now had the _potential_ to be, which took away the permanence of it all. Instead of seeing his future laid out for him, he now saw a pathway, albeit a narrow one, leading to an exit. One that he would like to reach as soon as possible, because once he finally reached it he merely needed to get a foot in the door and from there he would continue to pry it open with the rest of his body and escape to freedom.

In the end, he would have his way, at least until his parents did something to get in his way again, as they always did. There wasn't a scenario in his mind where he didn't get his way, he just refused to think of possible failures. All he could think of was that he would be able to walk away from this whole ordeal, maybe buy himself a few more years so that he could find another girl that his parents would approve of, and more importantly, one that _he_ would approve of. Someone who wanted the same things he did, someone much better than Renei, only just as beautiful and much more easy to get along with.

He was a misogamist, true, he didn't like the idea of marriage. But he was left without the option of being able to remain a bachelor. There was no loophole; he had to marry at some point. So, with marriage being entirely unavoidable, he at least wanted it to be arranged on his own terms. He wanted the chance to find a girl, someone he could get along with but who was also challenging. Someone who didn't expect the unacceptable from him, but liked to play his clever little games with him. The perfect woman, in his mind. A woman he found interesting _and_ tolerable, who would make marriage seem a little less unnecessary to him. He had his doubts about such a woman existing, but he'd rather try to find one like that than settle for someone he could never learn to tolerate.

Honestly, what on earth had possessed his parents to think that Nakajima was the perfect match for him? They seemed convinced that he simply hadn't learned yet to appreciate her more desirable qualities, but to him it didn't matter how much money, influence, beauty or talent she had. Lots of women had all of that. The fact was, Renei annoyed him, she'd always had this uncanny ability to get under his skin, from when they were kids to now. It was different now from back then, but she still got under his skin all the same. When she opened up her mouth there was a fifty-fifty chance that her witticisms would either entertain him or upset him. She was interesting in the same way she was infuriating ― because she could have such stimulating conversations with him, pose a real challenge to him, and yet she could say certain things in such a way that it made him question himself and all that he stood for (if only for a brief moment in time), because she sounded so damn convincing and always made valid points.

She was his equal, he'd give his parents a point for that. With her around, the game became a battle; it was like he had finally met his match, someone not only to play around with but to grapple with as well. And that unsettled him more than he'd like to admit. In some ways it excited him, in others... it really, truly, _bothered_ him. And no person had ever been able to really, truly bother _him_ before. He was immovable, unconquerable. Usually, he was the one doing the bothering, unhinging people with his words, making them have doubts and fears, teasing them, toying with them, however he liked.

They say that opposites attract, and since he and Renei aren't opposites, they don't attract. Instead, they clash. Which seems backwards, but the whole 'opposites attract' phrase is backwards in and of itself. And it makes sense anyways. Opposites attract because what one has, the other lacks, and vice versa. They're different, and that's what's so attractive. They learn and grow from each other, and they don't see their own faults reflected in the other, mocking them. Instead, they see something new, something refreshing.

Meanwhile, people who are similar to each other have a much harder time getting along. At least, in Tora's circumstances, that is the case. Too much of something is simply _too much_. Too much to handle in general, too much to have to repeatedly put up with. It's a constant fight, trying to see who's better at the same things. It's energy draining, to have to put up with someone who's a lot like yourself, because if you know yourself well enough then you know that you can have some faults, and those faults will only show up even more clearly to you in someone who is just like you. It's annoying to watch. It's tiring to fight against. It's simply too much to take on at once without feeling like you're losing something at some point along the way.

And Tora Igarashi hates to lose.

And Renei hates to lose as well. He's never giving up, she's never giving up. It's going to be a long, ongoing battle... a game that seemingly never finds its end with a clear winner.

And all because she's his equal, the person who can match his every move. That's probably what is so god-damn _unnerving_ about her. She shares his talents, the ones he had worked so hard to perfect. Renei has a certain ability to manipulate, she's easily able to seek and destroy. Perhaps she doesn't so much do the destroying as on purpose as he does it, but still, she is good at pinpointing truths and weaknesses, and then she tends to get all _preachy_ about it, almost as arrogant in her approach as he can be, and it's so. very. _annoying_ ― Which is why he plans on getting rid of her and finding a different woman to take her place.

The best alternative would be him not having to find a woman to settle down with at all. He didn't really want to go to the trouble of finding the perfect match for himself, for it would be such an incredibly _tedious_ task, but, it's not like he had much choice in the matter. He was the only heir to his family and therefore was the only one who could carry on the family name, and he couldn't very well do that without having children, and he'd have to have a wife for that. Adoption was out of the question and so was just getting any random woman knocked up. He had to do things the traditional way. He couldn't be entirely selfish, because that would ruin their family's reputation and business. And he wasn't going to cause that type of ruin if he could help it (and he could help it), because even though it would destroy his parents, it would take him down along with them.

And he just wasn't the type for self-sabotage.

If only he had more choice in the matter of what he wanted to do with his life. It was lamentable that he didn't, that he never had. He was an Igarashi, and with that name came power, and with power came responsibility. Since birth, he had carried the future of his family's continuously expanding, multi-billion yen corporation on his shoulders. He wasn't going to complain about that, because he didn't mind the prospect of running different branches of the business himself one day, having loads of money and power and an esteemed reputation like his father did. What he would complain about though, was not having a _choice_. If one day he didn't want to take on the business (this is figuratively speaking, of course), then he'd be forced into it anyway. He had never, and would never, be able to choose what _he_ wanted. It was, had always been, what his _parents_ wanted, or what the _public_ wanted, what the _world_ wanted. And he always had to oblige at some point, and if he ever wanted something done on his own terms, he first had to ask _permission_ , or try, with the promise of more risk than reward, to do it himself.

It was sickening, really. He felt like a puppet. Which was, in all its brutal honesty, the reason why he tried to take advantage of those below him, or whoever else he could. He wanted a taste of what it felt like to be the one pulling the strings, and not the one being pulled by them. He found a great thrill in getting to play puppet master, because he was so sick of always having to be the puppet. It was a fun sort of game for him, to torment people in the way he had always been secretly tormented. It made him feel a little less powerless, a little more in control. It made him feel... to some extent, better.

"Do we have a deal then?"

Tora's mind snapped back to the present when his mother spoke, impatience obvious in her tone. Ah, that's right. The deal, they were still in the middle of that. He had forgotten that he wasn't alone with just his thoughts.

Both of his parents sat across from him waiting for his answer, but he didn't care to agree just yet to their part of the deal. Instead, he decided to keep his gaze focused strictly on the wall, acting as if he hadn't heard his mother's spoken question. That would surely grate on her nerves, and he would surely take pleasure in that.

He had always thought it ironic, that although his mother stressed the importance of having patience, she never had been able to practice it herself. Aya Igarashi liked to do things quickly and painlessly, like pulling off a band-aid. While Tora... he preferred drawing things out in slow, torturous ways (like he was doing right now). It was something he had learned from his father ― who was of course, sitting beside his wife with all the patience in the world.

Speaking of that man, Mr. Igarashi had been watching his son all this time with a wakeful gaze, despite the late hour. His golden eyes, mimicking the orange glow that his son's attained in the lamplight, were fixated on the way Tora's fingers drummed quietly against the chair, a habitual motion that occurred whenever Tora was lost in deep thought. The drumming had ceased for a split-second when Aya had broken the silence, so he knew that Tora had heard her. The boy was just pretending not to notice and was drawing this out for as long as possible, obviously trying to get a rise out of Aya, who did not like to wait and was becoming more and more aggravated the longer that she had to. Not that Tomio was going to do anything about it ― it would do the woman some good to learn a thing or two about the careful art of patience.

Though, she didn't really need to wait and see what the answer was. Tora would accept the deal. He was the one who was striking up a deal with them in the first place, and being the smart person that he is, he must have already figured what they might ask of him and weighed the consequences beforehand. So he had had his answer for them from the moment they had mentioned their side of the bargain. And he had known that his parents would agree to his side of the bargain too.

Tomio had to admit, it was an intriguing idea that his son had come up with. But it was also a ridiculous one. Tora thought to use Takumi Usui as a bargaining chip in order to become closer to the Walker family. Tomio wasn't sure how that was going to work, when the kid, being an illegitimate child, meant little to nothing to Duke Rachester. The plan was probably bound for failure.

But then, it might be possible that Tora was aware of something that he himself had not yet gotten news of. He knew his son had many connections, and he didn't know who all of them were. He didn't even have a guess at what ace his son might have up his sleeve, because Tora wouldn't elaborate. Most likely because he didn't want to lose whatever leverage he had, which was understandable. This was like any other business transaction, where, when you know something your competitors don't, you should keep it that way for as long as possible, and always make sure they accept the deal you're trying to make with them before they find out about what you've been hiding. This approach is exactly the one Tomio would have taken, were he in his son's shoes. He felt more trepidation than pride at that thought.

Perhaps he had been a little _too_ thorough with raising his son. Tora would never try to overthrow his parents, he knew better than to ever go that far, a family feud would show a weakness to the outer world and it was like welcoming an attack from other big companies and also from the media. So frankly, it wasn't worth the risk. And Tora must also know that it would be too much of a struggle to want to bother with anyhow.

But despite not having to worry about that sort of thing, the boy could still be seen as something of a threat, since he had his father's cunning and his mother's elegance. The boy had the ability to pinpoint his enemies' weaknesses and plot their downfalls while at the same time earning their trust with friendly actions and pretty language. He was tricky, he was suave, he was everything an Igarashi should be. Tora was exceptionally worthy to take on the family business, there was no doubt about that, due to his set of skills. But also because of such skills, whenever Tomio struck a deal with his son he always had the nagging feeling that Tora was hiding something from him. Which was why he rarely struck deals with his son, and always tried to make Tora do things his and Aya's way rather than give the boy free rein.

However, this deal was an exception. Why? Because they wouldn't lose anything from letting him try out his plan, in fact, they would gain something if he succeeded. And if he failed, Tora could learn a thing or two from his failure and maybe gain some humility.

Besides, who's to say Tomio didn't hide things as well? He, the very source from which Tora learned it from! Of course the withholding of information went both ways.

Tora wasn't a fool, so he might have figured this already, but they hadn't exactly elaborated about their side of the bargain either. All they had told him was that he still needed to escort Renei to his mother's birthday party. What they hadn't included, was that there was more to it than just that. Taking the girl to one party wouldn't be the end of it, no, they had other events planned for the two after that; dinners, dates, anything that would bring the engaged couple closer together. He and Aya wanted the marriage to happen just as much as Tora didn't want it to happen, and they weren't going to give up their attempts at changing his mind about it because of this one deal. The only thing they were promising him right now was to keep the engagement discreet, but they weren't promising to stop intervening.

Fact is, they needed this engagement to work out. For confidential reasons that their son, and his fiancée, weren't aware of. After all, it wasn't always just about the marriage...

The time for thinking came to an abrupt end when Aya, having had enough of the silent treatment, smacked her husband's arm. He grunted, feeling the sting it left behind ― that woman could pack quite the punch when she was in a foul mood.

"We're wasting time just sitting here! I have a dinner to attend in _five minutes_ and _you_ have your work to get back to!" She hissed, and he slowly turned his head in order to regard her.

His wife looked stunning in her wine peplum dress and expensive jewels, blonde hair piled on top of her head in a braided up-do. However, the look she was giving him right then, that pinched, irritated glare, easily took her from levels of stunning to a level of barely tolerable.

"Son," He faced forward again, speaking gruffly. "you heard your mother. Remember, time is money." He felt the sudden and familiar urge to get back to work, if only to get away from his family.

Tora still didn't look up just yet, torturing his mother a little more. He could almost sympathize with his father, because he knew what it felt like to have a woman nagging you for no good reason (no good reason in your own opinion, at least). Renei's face appeared in his mind (as he associated her with the entire concept of nagging) along with the words she had spoken to him not more than a couple of hours ago. His fingers stopped drumming against the seat and curled inward.

He would pull this off, by any means necessary. That much he wanted to make certain.

Even if it meant spending time with Renei at parties and whatever else his parents threw at him, he didn't care. All he cared about was managing to call off this engagement, because he was _not_ marrying _that_ girl. And so long as he was satisfied in the end, what happened for the time being didn't matter.

Mainly, he had always wanted to spite his parents in any way that he could, but now, he had someone else he wanted to spite as well.

It would be so very satisfying to prove her wrong and then kick her to the curb. He wanted to prove to her, that by holding a grudge for this long, by knowing who his enemies are and learning to manipulate them and use them and others to his advantage, he ended up getting his way, while she... she, who is weak enough to _forgive,_ to have _mercy_ on, and try to show some _understanding_ to the people who have wronged her, when surely they don't deserve those things... she would never have her way. She may be an intelligent individual, but her system of forgive and forget was disadvantageous.

How lucky for him, that she had that type of weakness. A kind heart is always the easiest to manipulate; so soft and malleable. If she was truly dumb enough to actually _want_ to struggle through hell with him then by all means, he would give her what she wanted, with pleasure.

Abruptly he realized that, almost as much as he despised interacting with Renei, he also was enjoying this game between them more and more as the time went by. At least he wasn't bored ― he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten so worked up about something, except maybe, with what happened with Ayuzawa.

This was different from that though, in the way that, he actually had a lot on the line with this particular game he was playing with Renei and his parents. Luckily, the scales were tipping in his favor, and the best part was, no one was aware of this but him. If his parents were going to force him to continue to develop a relationship with the woman, that actually worked out in his favor. After all, there is that saying that goes 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. And, he still had to make good on what he said to Renei about discovering her flaws, and changing her to his liking. That was the whole reason he had put her on the Student Council ― so that he could have some form of power over her, and she could learn what it feels like to follow orders like any proper pet should. She is his fiancée, he is the man in the relationship, and the way he sees it, that meant she should _listen_ to him and do as he says, instead of resisting and trying to have her way.

Also, besides all that, it always went back to the fact that he enjoyed pulling people's strings. Especially the strings of the people he disagreed with and disliked most.

It would be an extra bit of fun for him, trying to break her, learning to wear her down. He didn't want to keep her in the end, but if she was his for now, he liked the challenge of trying to tame something, of getting to snip her strings one by one until she fell without the ability to get back up again. Oh, he looked forward to all of that.

Tora's gaze again landed on the envelope, and this time when he looked at it, he felt excitement rather than contempt. The game was changing, and the odds were far more in his favor than they were in hers at the moment. Maybe, while he waited for this engagement to eventually start falling apart, he could enjoy toying with his new puppet... starting with this upcoming party that he was now suddenly eager to invite her to.

He picked up the envelope and finally looked at his parents, meeting their eyes with a mischievous half-grin appearing on his face.

The answer was, undeniably, that they had a deal.

* * *

A/N: It seems that people are really liking the members of 'Rose Picture', Shin and Haruto especially! That makes me happy XD My plan had been to make them as interesting as possible for the readers. I made them all different from one another, so that as a group, they're quite unique. Actually now that I _really_ think about it, I kind of pulled together a 'Breakfast Club' scenario with these guys. Random kids pulled together into a disparate group. HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS BEFORE NOW? And I've only seen The Breakfast Club one time! Guess it made quite the impression on me? Though I didn't exactly copy the characters, mine are actually rather different from the kids in that movie, but the _idea_ behind the movie is what I'm talking about really, not necessarily the character's personalities. Just the fact that they're all so different from one another.

Shin is very average, very 'boy next door', with a little bit of a punk edge to him (more like, he's trying too hard to be a punk), and a goofy side that provides comedic relief. Haru is that cute, optimistic kid that brightens everyone's day, yet he seems to turn into someone else while he is singing, as if he's losing himself in the music. Nao is like one of those cool, older kids in school that you were always afraid to approach because they seem to have it all together - perfect hair, perfect outfit, perfect life. You never notice a flaw on her and that makes her intimidating but also admirable - she has everyone's respect (even though she's rather small in size), and she keeps people in check due to that. And Ryota's one of those quiet people who's more of an observer than a talker. He's that kid at the back of the class who's a bit of an enigma and may seem intimidating or like that kind of 'I think I'm better than everyone else' sort of person to some people, when really he's just content to not draw the attention to himself. He's one of those people who never says much, but when he does speak, it's usually something important and that makes him the voice of reason in the group.

Really Random: I am making the official shipping names "Renora" (ReneixTora) and "Shinei" (ShinxRenei) LET THE SHIPPING GAMES BEGIN! And me being the author, I refuse to pick a side. Though if I could... no! I will not say.

 **Crazy Shortie** : Your support is 100% appreciated :) Always. (and thanks for your respect, but for this chapter I had like zero patience for piecing the whole thing together lol so I just saved like 3/4 of it for the next chapter instead)

 **Guest** : The tension! THE TENSION! ... the tension indeed ;] mwahahahahah

 **MystearicaBlaze** : You stay amazing as well! Thank you for the review! You're so good to me ^-^

 **SakKim98** : I'm assuming that face means you are one of the following - surprised, shocked, speechless. Or put into words, maybe it means "Whoa" ? Or maybe you're just trying to make me uncomfortable by staring at me with those wide, lifeless eyes. If that is the case, then I will join you O_O (Author be creepin')

 **Bailey Webster** : You're welcome :) Also, yes, that is how you would go about saying that. I hadn't really gotten into the whole shipping scene either until I watched Yu-Gi-Oh and then I was suddenly SHIPPING A BILLION DIFFERENT ANIME CHARACTERS AT ONCE and now I know a lot more about how shipping works hahahaha!

 **RandomFandoms14** : Firstly, I already have a set plan for what's going to happen with Shin, but I can't really tell you what it is because *spoilers*. I will say though, that I don't want him to get his heart broken either because he IS too good for that. That sweet-toothed idiot grows on ya real quick, doesn't he? Secondly, I love giving the hints, it's fun to give the readers little clues here and there, like a treasure hunt :D

 **Ka-tay's mind** : Shin likes to think he's not so gullible, but he kind of is easily manipulated (esp. if you bribe him with cake and other sweets) I'm glad that each member of 'Rose Picture' interests you! And you're comparing my words to the quotes of JOHN freaking GREEN? I'm so FREAKING flattered I almost fainted! I was giggling for a good fifteen minutes, and smiling for the next four days after that. And you're welcome for the compliments, you surely deserve them! *heart* And yes, Tora and Renei are actually _quite_ similar (as stated in this chapter). They are simply motivated by different things. It's awesome that you're understanding the story so well! And I'm glad you love Shin's character development! It will only get better from here on out ;D If you enjoyed the sibling moment between Renei and Masao and are also looking forward to more of Shin, Haru, Nao, and Ryota in the future, then I think this news will please you - as the story progresses, I will be adding in more and more about the supporting characters, including their family life, maybe some backstory, little details that would surprise you ;)

 **(Grammar Nazi) Guest** : (I have a lot to say but since I can't PM you I've tried to shorten it up as much as I can) Ah, I love to hear from you my friend! I did intend to vary Igarashi's character from the Igarashi I wrote about in my other fic, because in my opinion he was too OOC in the other fic. Am I doing well so far? I try. Oh and I'm from the Western United States. Where are you from? Moving on: Your opinions are basically my self-given critique given a voice. One of the main points of 'Rules of Engagement' was for me to give myself a do-over at writing a story in the Maid-sama universe. Anyone can see that 'House, Heart' has its flaws, and someday I plan on going back and rewriting it but I'm putting that on hold for the time being. Just so you know, you have not offended me with anything you said, if anything, I appreciate the fact that you shared your opinions with me :) And I especially appreciate the comment you made about me having improved as a writer, because I thought I had, but it was just so nice to hear someone confirm that for me so that I _know_ instead of just _think_ that. Next thing: I agree that there shouldn't really be any smut, because in my previous experience with my other story, it screwed with the plot too much (pun intended). To be honest though, 'House, Heart' was just a mess in general, and I don't plan to make the same mistakes again. Lastly: Shin is Tora's opponent in a way, but also not. At least, not quite _yet_. He isn't all that worthy, in Tora's opinion. However, Tora isn't ignorant to the efforts Shin makes towards Renei, and while he doesn't exactly like Renei, he also doesn't like the fact that another boy is getting so close to her. Take from that what you will. Anyway, point is that Shin gets on Tora's nerves and Tora gets on Shin's nerves, which is the first step to rivalry – A mutual dislike of one another. All in all, I'd just say that it's getting there ;)

 **Guest(s)** : So you want Tora and Renei to end up together? Weeellllll... I don't want to spoil anything. But I will state my opinion. I agree with the fact that Renei and Shin seem more like best friends rather than boyfriend/girlfriend. I also agree that Shin deserves someone better than Renei - better meaning, someone who can actually return his feelings. Renei is cynical about love, while Shin is very expressive and flirtatious. There is a world of difference there. But do opposites really attract? Hmm... Also, I'm not saying that Renei is a bad person, but if you pay close attention to her character, she has good and bad traits that are in conflict with each other. While she is down-to-earth, she is also a bit la-di-da. While she is naturally concerned for other's well-being, she's also selfish. And she is stubborn, but for the most part, reasonably so. Anyway, I see your point behind not wanting Renei and Shin to end up together, because one might picture Shin with someone easier to handle and more carefree. Shin and Renei just don't seem like a good love match, do they? But then again, do Tora and Renei really fit that well as a love match? Sure, they're similar, but think about it... should Renei really end up with _either_ of them? Ahhhh, now I've got you thinking, haven't I? Hehehehee...

A HUGE, FLUFFY THANK YOU! to everyone, reviewers and just readers of the story in general! You're AMAZING! Much love to you all ~ *heart*

CK:*


	11. Hell Is Empty

A/N: I want to take a moment to express my sympathy for the attacks that have recently happened in Paris. I can't even imagine what those people must be going through, those who lost their families and friends in the shooting and bomb casualties. Let's all of us send them our love, because they really need it right now. *mentally giving Paris a big hug*

Alright guys, now that we've addressed the serious matter I wanted to address, let's move on with the story.

CK:*

* * *

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." ― William Shakespeare, _The Tempest_

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Hell Is Empty (and all the devils are here)

...

Renei controlled her breaths, slowly breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She felt her lungs shaking with every inhale and shuddering with every exhale, her limbs aching with every movement her body made, her skin slick with sweat and her heart rate soaring.

One more lap, just one more lap she told herself, and then she could be done.

Running had always been one of the most effective methods to keep her mind clear and thoughts in line. It always kept her spirits up, made her feel more upbeat and optimistic. The body was made to move, and the heart, just like any other muscle, was also made to move. That's why cardio always felt so natural, so freeing. Renei wasn't sure what she'd do if she didn't at least go out once a day for a good run, or do some jump roping ― just anything to get her heart rate up and make her feel more _alive_.

It's not as if anyone was watching her, so she didn't always have to push herself so hard. But her old softball coach had been pretty intense, so she was used to working herself this hard, and it had never proven to be too much for her. All it _had_ proven to be, was a positive activity that kept her both healthy and happy; working out was her way of blowing off some steam, loosening herself up a bit. Exercise is a form of stress relief, is what the professionals say, and she had to agree with that. She had been a little too stressed out lately, and these morning runs were definitely therapeutic for her, serving as her own personal way of releasing all the built up tension from her body. They basically were what helped her to keep her sanity in check day after day.

Finally finishing the last lap, Renei came to an immediate stop and bent over to rest her hands on her knees, panting. She was hot, and she was thirsty, but her body tingled with the rush of endorphins and she felt much better than she had when she first woke up this morning. It was a strange feeling that she had gotten, but as soon as she had risen out of bed, she sensed that today was going to be nothing but troublesome for her. That sense of foreboding had followed her all the way to school, but it wasn't bothering her now as much as it was when she arrived here half an hour ago. The running really had helped.

"Nakajima-san."

The voice startled her into standing up ramrod straight, her body tensing up all over again. She turned to face the voice and her brow furrowed in confusion when she caught sight of the raven-haired young man walking towards her. "Vice President Maki?"

Once close enough, he held out a bottled water and a towel for her to take. Then he simply stood there in front of her, hands clasped behind his back, looking as professional and mannerly as ever. Needless to say, he looked completely out of place on the track field.

"Thank you." She patted the sweat from her forehead and neck with the towel and took a long swig of water, grateful for both. Yet, she couldn't help but think suspiciously of his kind actions. He was friends with the President, after all. He couldn't be all that good, no matter how he might like to make himself appear.

Maki regarded her with the usual inspective glances, unaware of her current suspicions about him. "Do you do this every morning?" He asked this more for future reference on knowing where to find her in the mornings, than out of natural curiosity about her habits.

"Usually." She paused from her drinking and cocked an eyebrow at him. "How long were you watching me for?"

"I just arrived. I had been searching for you, and someone informed me that you were out here on a run so I thought I'd bring you some things to help you cool off." He produced a smile.

"I see." She looked down at the towel and water in her hands. This was, strange. He hadn't made any move to speak with her privately since they had spoken on that day in the library, and now here he was, tracking her down and acting weirdly considerate. He'd never really given her any special treatment before, but if he were ever to, this is what she supposed it would be like. "Well, much appreciated. Do you need me for something?"

"The President requires your assistance in the Student Council room." Maki explained, and the sense of foreboding came back to Renei in that moment. "You see, someone has made some sort of mess ―"

"Maki-san." Renei strived to be sound more amused than offended. "I am not a janitor."

Sensing her slight irritation, he tilted his head as if to appease her. "I'm sure that the President wouldn't be asking for your assistance with this, if the mess wasn't in your own work space."

Her dark eyes widened. " _My_ work space? A _mess?_ "

"It isn't clear who was behind it, but the contents of your desk are scattered over the floor. The President wants it cleaned up before ―"

Maki didn't get to finish his explanation because Renei was already moving past him and hurrying towards the school building.

xx

Tora stood in front of one of the large windows in the Student Council room, eyes closed, allowing the early morning sunlight, along with a sense of calm, to wash over him. The sound of the two heavy doors at the other end of the room barging open broke through the peace moments later, causing him to let out a long breath and turn around.

Renei walked in, as expected, and he was about to say something to her when one look at her attire stopped him short.

The tall brunette was dressed in a white tank top with thin fabric that (probably without her intention) accentuated the outline of her tight stomach, black yoga pants that came down to the knee, and tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail, but small strands had freed themselves and were drifting lazily around either side of her face, which was flushed a rosy pink.

Tora almost burst into fits of laughter, and he didn't dare to even blink ― this was just too good a moment to miss out on.

"What on earth happened here?" Her voice came out sounding breathy, and such a sound sprouted all sorts of visions of her in compromising positions. He allowed them to plague his mind for a few seconds, a droll grin appearing on his face as he wondered over a passing thought of what she'd be like in bed. It was a thought he had only entertained one other time, the night he had seen her for the first time again after their five years of separation. She had really looked appealing that night.

He stared at her intently, golden eyes raking over her form, curiously taking in the way her statuesque physique looked in something other than a dress and heels. She wasn't exactly dressed inappropriately, these were just simple exercise clothes; even so, it was an outfit that seemed to leave nothing to the imagination and yet left everything to the imagination at the same time. The fabric of her tank top was almost too thin, but not quite enough to be see-through. The yoga pants covered what they should, while at the same time accentuating it. He would be lying if he said it didn't do something for him, like spark some sort of fire in his gut. The passing question of what she might be like in bed was starting to stick around his head the longer he kept his eyes on her.

As interesting of a thought that it may be, he forced himself to file it into the back of his mind to come back to at a later time. He was too amused by her appearance at the moment to dwell on it anyway.

Renei, for her part, had failed to even notice his quiet staring. Her attention was solely on the wreck that had become of her work desk. Her once tidy, organized, perfectly arranged desk space, wasn't any of those things anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Really..." She had already approached the, well, what can only be classified as a mess, and was carefully stepping around the haphazard, wide spread of papers and scattered pencils, among other things, that were on the floor. Her voice was strained, as if she was trying to refrain from raising it. "Just... guuuhhh..." She groaned, running one hand over her face and the other through her hair. She did not like seeing her things in a cluttered mess on the floor, not one bit. Her frustration levels were gradually rising, along with a few other unhappy emotions that were gurgling in her chest like caged monsters demanding their release.

Tora, on the other hand, was having a rather good time compared to her. When she turned her back to him as she continued her walk around the desk, the young man secretly admired what the stretched material of those pants did to emphasize the curve of her backside. He couldn't help but think to himself that, she may be a pain in the ass, but at least she had a nice one to look at. Maybe she was such a tight-ass because she _had_ such a tight ass.

A chuckle, low enough to go unheard, finally managed to escape his control. He could have a sense of humor, on occasion.

Maki walked into the room then, having followed after Renei. He stood near the open doorway, looking between the two others in the room and noticing that Tora was eyeing her in a way that seemed odd to him. There was a certain amount of intrigue and amusement in the blonde's eyes, and along with that an eagerness to go in for the kill ― which was akin to lust, but not quite like it. The President was looking at Renei (or actually, rather pointedly looking at her rear) much more approvingly than he usually would. And it was odd.

Maki felt confused, seeing as before now, Tora usually stared at Renei as if she were a pestering fly he wanted to swat. Or as if she were a challenge he wanted to best and then quickly move on from. He had yet to ever make so much as a single comment about her appearance, other than the time when Maki had asked him if she were very beautiful, and Tora's one response was 'more than very'. So, Tora had obviously recognized beforehand that Renei was attractive, he was aware of it. He just had never talked about it again after that, and it even seemed that he had chosen to ignore it, as if thinking about it would distract him from his main goal to get rid of her. That being said, Maki had never witnessed Tora looking at her in the way he was looking at her right now, appearing as if he wanted to keep her around for a while, and play with her a little more, maybe even seduce her. The raven-haired young man couldn't help but wonder what the reason behind the sudden change was, or if it even meant anything of importance.

All he knew for certain was that it was a noteworthy thing, whenever Tora was entertaining the idea of seducing someone. Normally, he wasn't the one doing the seducing because most women threw themselves at him, so when Tora decided to put forth the effort to seduce a girl, it normally meant that he was especially interested in her, because Tora Igarashi didn't just waste his time on any random person. It required a special type of woman for him to want to take that step of steadily pursuing her, and once he did decide on taking that step, he didn't stop until he had her like putty in his hands. The only exception to that was Ayuzawa-san, who was already putty in the hands of someone else.

But what would have made him change his mind towards Renei out of nowhere? Was Maki even correct in thinking that the look in Tora's eyes held a sliver, or maybe just a little bit more than that, of desire? Desire for Renei herself, rather than her downfall, or most likely the desire for both of those things now.

"President?" He decided to speak up finally, eyebrows raised questioningly as the other boy looked over and met his gaze.

Maki's unasked questions were displayed clearly enough for Tora to notice, and they caused the blonde to remember himself; he quickly wiped any sort of expression off his face, though he was unable to hide his queer smirk in time. The Vice President was giving him an even more curious look now, which Tora opted to brush aside for the time being. He took his time straightening himself out and shaking away a few straying thoughts about Renei before speaking.

"Thank you for bringing her, Maki. That will be all."

The second in command stared, holding the taller boy's gaze for a second longer than he normally would, before nodding in understanding and looking away. Clearly, he wasn't needed, or rather, wanted there at the moment. Though he would like to stay and observe the interactions between the President and secretary, he couldn't do that when he had clearly been dismissed. He could always seek Tora out later for a discussion about his and Renei's relationship, but now was obviously not the time to talk about such things ― not with the woman in question standing within hearing range.

Maki turned and made his way from the room. Right now he would just have to leave the couple be.

With the other young man's departure, Tora turned his attention back to the brunette, who now stood on one side of her desk with her hands on her hips, glaring at the messy pile on the floor as if that alone would clean it up.

"Nakajima." He called.

Sharp, dark eyes immediately pinpointed where he stood in the room.

"Igarashi." There was a pause after his name, as if she were inwardly debating something, and then her voice came back much firmer than before. "Don't tell me that you were the one behind this. If so, it isn't funny. Not even in the least."

He decided to ignore her accusation and lazily gestured to her appearance. "What are you wearing?"

She must not have realized that she was still in her workout clothes, because she stood still for a moment, staring blankly back at him, before slowly tilting her head down to get a look at herself.

"Apparently, not my uniform." She tried to sound unaffected, but her face had warmed several degrees and it was quite clear to Tora that she felt embarrassed. She liked to appear professional at all times, and yet, here she was, standing around in a sweaty tank top and clingy yoga pants. Not very professional.

Renei cleared her throat and her next words were spoken through a frown. "I need to go change. When I come back though, we are going to have a talk about ― " she removed one hand from her hip and pointed to the mess. " _this_."

Tora chose this moment to approach her, the moment when indignation appeared in her normally cool and collected gaze. It was clear that she saw the situation as unfair, and blamed him for it.

He walked towards her slowly enough to irritate, and with enough purpose in his steps to make her a bit wary with the closer he got. He stopped when he was just a few paces in front of her, unable to progress further since piles of scattered documents and office supplies lay on the floor between them.

"There's nothing to discuss." He said dryly, while his eyes awaited her response, the golden-yellow orbs flickering brightly with anticipatory desire. He wanted to see her becoming angry, infuriated. He wanted to make her yell, cry, scream, throw things. Maybe it wouldn't happen all at once, but... all in due time... And why did he want this? Well, mainly because, in comparison, it would make him feel a whole lot better about the way he had lost his own composure because of her words last night. He wanted to 1-up her in their game. "The mess was here when I walked in this morning, and no one knows who did it. But since these are your things, you should be the one to clean them up."

He was counting on her seeing through his false words and figuring out the truth, which he'd never admit to, just to aggravate her. And satisfaction flooded through him in waves when he saw her shoulders tense as she seemed to recognize the lie the moment he let it smoothly pass through his lips.

"If this is about yesterday after school, I'm not going to apologize for what I said. I don't apologize for my opinions." Her tone was even but had become slightly more heated.

"Ah," He mused, eyebrows raising as he faked a surprised look. "you think this somehow has to do with our little chat? To be honest, I had forgotten all about it by this morning. I suppose your words weren't significant enough to have much of an effect on me." He reveled in the way she seemed to twitch in annoyance. She wasn't exactly transparent, but he knew enough about body language to understand how upset she truly was at the moment. One sweep of his eyes was all it took for him to know; she was irritated, angry, even, and struggling not to show it.

"You..." Her voice trailed off with a barely audible groan.

"I?" He continued to feign innocence, but his smirk was purposely giving himself away.

"You," Renei kept her gaze directed right at him, trying to unsettle him if she could manage it. "are acting like a child. Creating messes for others to clean up, playing ridiculous little lying games ―"

It was clear that Tora had the upper hand right now, being completely unaffected by her verbal assault and serious eye contact. "Hmm..." He hummed, slowly dragging his gaze up the length of her body, pressuring her into stopping her rant for a moment, long enough for him to butt in. "A mere child could not understand how tempting women always seem to look in tight clothing. But I certainly can, so I don't think you're right for comparing me to one."

Her eyes widened as she took offense, and she moved her arms up quickly to cross them over her chest, as if to hide it away. Tora clicked his tongue, showing his disapproval for the action.

Renei spoke stiffly. "Allow me to remind you, yet again, that I am not like all the other women you have at your disposal, and will not be treated as such. I am not your pet, or slave, or... maid. What I am is your fiancée, and as such, I deserve your respect."

That one thing she said had him picturing her in a maid outfit much like Misaki's as she moved around, cleaning up the mess that had become of her desk area. A desk, a rebellious girl, a maid uniform... why was the scenario so appealing to him?

Tora felt a spike of excitement rush through him as he played with the memory in his head. He had always been quite conventional in his approach to anything sexual. But ever since that one day, where he'd managed to have Misaki under him on the desk dressed in her maid getup, he admits (to himself) that he had developed a certain fondness towards that particular sort of, thing. Whatever one might call it. He refused to refer to it as a kink, it was simply... a fondness. Which he had managed to stop thinking about for a little while, until the other day when Renei had to go and mention Misaki to him and thoughts of her sprung up in his head all over again.

And then he had found himself visiting the maid café, a trip which had further stimulated his old interests. Watching the way Misaki had been arguing with Takumi that night... made him want a taste of what that was like again. To argue with her. To see the fire light up in her eyes. To watch her act like such a reckless force to be reckoned with. While, at the very same time, working shifts at a maid café in order to support her family. He'd been ignoring it, trying to play this interest in her off as nothing important to him, because having an interest in Misaki would obviously interfere in his plan to somehow befriend Takumi, or at least get close to him. And there was no way that his parents would approve of that girl anyway. But... he never got to have his way with the raven-haired maid/Student Council President. And so it was easy to assume that his interest wasn't going to go away until he had some form of closure.

Why did he let her just slip through his fingers? That Ayuzawa had been... charming, in her own way. Rough around the edges (he remembered the first time he met her in person and she clotheslined some guy ― what a laugh!), sweetened in the middle (she was always so polite when she had spoken with him, before their little falling out, and she treated her students with careful, caring attention), and she smelled just a bit like vanilla and strawberries. Strange that he could easily recall that last part. It was probably due to the fact that it was so different from the scents of every other woman he came across, normally they all smelled of perfumes, lotions and cosmetics.

"IGARASHI."

Tora snapped his head in Renei's direction, not realizing how absorbed he had become in his thoughts. For a few minutes, he had forgotten that she was in the same room with him. In fact, he had forgotten about her existence entirely. And when he met her stern, violet-colored eyes, he realized from the flicker of annoyance in them that she must have been calling his name without any response from him for a while now.

He frowned. He hadn't meant to zone out like that, but even so, it didn't matter if he had or hadn't. He could do whatever he wished to, and right now, he wished to annoy the brunette even further. Because he sure as hell didn't want to hear her nagging him again. "You said you're not like the other women, and perhaps, you're not quite like them. But let's look at the current way things stand between us, Nakajima. You are, in fact, at my disposal. And, like a common pet, I've put you through certain steps of training. Like any slave with its master, you belong to me, you're bound to me, and why? Because of the engagement you refuse to put an end to. And like a simple house maid, you work beneath me, bringing me lunches and performing other menial tasks." His lips quirked upward and his eyes looked sharp and hurtful. "So long as you continue your work with the Student Council, and so long as we are engaged, you will be all of these things."

To his delight, Renei didn't begin to nag him. She actually became utterly silent all of a sudden. It was after a prolonged interlude that Tora eventually realized, she wasn't going to say anything to that. He arched an eyebrow, watching her standing there in the silence that had fallen after his words. Her head was lowered, with her eyes on the floor. Her tennis shoes squeaked on the tile as she skid one leg behind the other and propped it there. She made no other movement after that, and didn't look up or speak up at all.

"Oh." The one word was said mockingly, but he was also unable to keep the disappointment from coming through in his tone. That's it? That was her reaction? She wasn't going to live up to her own words and _bite_ back? Sure, he didn't want her nagging, but he did want a little something, like a bit of sass or some back-and-forth banter to amuse him. Really, he was starting to miss Ayuzawa. If this had been her he was talking to, she could have snapped something back immediately. And she was always engaging in banter with Takumi. "Nothing to say, have you?"

The question caused Renei to lift her head higher, so that he could see the look on her face. Her brow was smooth and unconcerned, and her mouth was flattened into a simple line. There was hardly any expression there at all, except for in her gaze. Her dark, soulful eyes were cool and fiery all at once, shining and alight with purple flames swathed in a deep ocean of blue.

It was strange, how in her eyes, bright flames could ignite within dark waves of water. Tora had never seen anything like it. He was accustomed to pure raging fire, not... this. Admittedly, as he looked into her eyes, he felt startled beyond all comprehension. He had wanted her to get angry, but this wasn't what he'd been expecting... this was something new altogether, she almost looked like a completely different person with that look in her eyes. And the reason it was so startling, was because he thought he had her all figured out, but apparently, he did not.

Tora didn't like being wrong.

Just where was this coming from, he needed to know. Serene waters didn't just _randomly_ burst into corybantic flames. It made no sense. There had to have been some fire in her before this moment, and it's not that he hadn't noticed it, because he _would_ have noticed it, because that sort of thing is _interesting_ enough for him to want to take notice of. So it wasn't that he had somehow missed seeing it before now, it's that she had simply never showed that she had it in her, until now.

With Nakajima being the rational person that she is, it would make sense that she couldn't handle certain emotions. Like passion. Especially the angry, bitter kind of passion that's hard to swallow. Hatred, much like its opposite, love, is unpredictable. Which in her mind is a dangerous thing. Therefore, she would be the type who tries their best to push that away as much as possible.

But it was showing right now. And he was guessing, it was because of something he had said. Probably that part about him referring to her as a 'common pet' and 'slave', his own personal 'maid', and referring to himself as her 'master'.

He had gotten what he had wanted. She was upset because of him. But it was rather frustrating, that she wasn't saying anything. Not a single word.

And then he was watching her as she walked around the side of the desk and started towards the doors.

"Going to get cleaning supplies?" He quipped, trying to get some sort of reaction out of her.

"Going to take a shower and change into something presentable." She called over her shoulder, and her voice was smooth, albeit louder than she'd probably meant for it to be. "I'll be back."

And with that, she made her not-so-grand exit. No stomping or tantrums. She just walked right out. And Tora was left behind, arms folded, chin held high, eyes carrying a look of bemusement. However, he wasn't very mad at her, because the only clear thought he was able to think as his eyes followed her out was―

She would look good naked in the shower. Especially with that new, exciting expression in her gaze.

xx

"What... happened?"

Renei, now dressed in her uniform, looked up from the mess she was trying to organize back onto her desk to acknowledge the voice. Chocolate strands of hair were hanging in her face; she had barely had enough time to dry it after showering, and had no choice but to braid it loosely down her back. And, after her run back to the Student Council room, many strands had come loose. It was really annoying, not having it pulled tightly into its usual up-do, because it tended to get in the way of the task she was trying to complete when it was just hanging limply across her back, flopping this way and that whenever she turned her head.

In a frustrated move, her hand jerked up to tuck the obnoxiously long and bothersome loose strands back behind her ears. "Nice to see you, Nishihara. As you can tell, there's been some sort of... accident, you could say. Which I'm trying to clean up in the next ten minutes."

Hideaki Nishihara ― a boy of average height with short, bluish-black hair, bangs parted down the middle, and dark eyes the color of the sea, Student Council Treasurer ― looked up in thought, quickly doing the math in his head. "Statistically, you will never be able to have that cleaned up in the time allotted."

"I know, but I'm going to try." She informed him, a determined expression crossing over her face as she went back to work.

Hideaki was about to say something else, when another figure approached the desk.

"Hello there, Nishihara, Nakajima." Renei didn't look up this time, but she recognized the voice of Kyohei Izaki, the Student Council Historian. "What's up? The morning coffee hasn't even been passed around yet and you're already doing something stressful, it seems."

"Nakajima-san thinks that she can clean all of this up and organize it in the next nine minutes before classes start." Nishihara filled him in, and Renei could just feel that Izaki was smirking down at her in his usual haughty way.

"That doesn't seem possible." He placed a hand on her desk and leaned forward, trying to get her attention. "Ne, Nakajima? I'd say you've finally lost it. And it hasn't even been that long since you joined the Council. Well, I always knew you'd snap. You're a rubber band pulled too tight to _not_ end up snapping at some point or another."

She glanced up to meet his sweet-yet-sour grin. He was shorter than everyone on the Council, in fact he practically looked like a kid, not a teenager, with a baby face that would have you fooled if you didn't know what his real personality was like. His musket brown hair had long bangs dramatically swept to the side, which he would often flip out of his slate blue eyes with a toss of his head (which she found to be a rather irritating habit of his). Due to the personal information she had to gather on everyone in the Council, she was aware that, despite his small stature, he was ranked second in the school's judo club. The first rank being held by none other than Tora.

So, she knew that he not only spent time with Tora on the Student Council, but also spent time with him in clubs. All in all, he spent a heck of a lot of time around the blonde, which would explain why he was almost as vain, selfish, and maddening as said blonde. In fact, if she was right in saying so, he tried to be like Tora in every way that he could, like some sort of copycat admirer.

Most of the time (and she means it when she says _most_ of the time and not all of the time) he was a funny and helpful individual. His work on the Council was always appreciated, and he was quite a people person. There wasn't one student she knew of who didn't love him to pieces. Besides herself, that is. For whatever reason, he liked to give her a hard time and he was only nice to her when he absolutely had to be.

She wondered if it was because he thought she was closer to Tora than he was, being his fiancée and all. Izaki was one of the few people who was aware that Renei and Tora were technically a couple, even if they didn't act like it. Maybe he didn't want her getting in the way of his schmoozing to the President. Or he didn't see her as a good enough match for Tora. She wasn't quite sure, either it was envy, or he just didn't like her as a person. Or maybe even both.

In any case, it was ridiculous. His jealousy or dislike of her, whatever it was, was pointless if Tora didn't even like her and vice versa. The truth was, Kyohei probably saw more of Tora than Renei did. He didn't need to feel threatened by her, and he didn't have a solid reason for being so rude to her. But who knows? Maybe he just did it for fun.

"Izaki, listen very carefully to what I am about to say." Her voice sounded tired, even to her own ears, and he cocked his head to the side as if to hear her better. "If you aren't going to help me, then leave." She glanced over to Nishihara. "And that goes for you as well. There's just no point in the two of you standing around watching me."

At those words, Nishihara actually bent down and picked up her broken stapler. He started to fiddle with it in his hands, trying to figure a way to fix it. Renei smiled a little. He may be a bit dull and hard to converse with due to his robotic way of speaking and acting, but he was similar to her in the sense that he enjoyed being efficient and he didn't purposely try to upset others. It was nice that he was making some sort of effort, unlike the other boys she had to put up with on the Council who enjoyed nothing more than to sit back and watch her suffer through tasks.

Izaki leaned closer to Renei, managing to snatch the end of her braid and pull on it while she was busy. Her head was jerked back and she cried out at the sharp pain at her roots. Izaki started laughing at her reaction, so she straightened up and gave him an irritated look that was clearly meant to tell him to back off. Instead of releasing his hold on her hair however, he ignored her message and picked out a loose lock that he could fiddle with between his fingers.

"You know," He started slowly, his soft lips forming a teasing grin. "I like you this way better." His eyes roamed upwards to meet her own. "Frazzled, out of order. You're usually so composed, but its admittedly nice to see you let your hair down." He smiled and twirled her hair around and around his finger, taunting her. "Literally."

Renei's eyes narrowed, almost becoming slits. "Do not touch any part of me without my permission." She waited a beat, and he allowed her hair to slip through his fingers. With a curt nod to him, she turned back to her desk and started straightening the stacks of papers she had managed to organize thus far.

Her attention was stolen for not even more than a few seconds by Nishihara, who was informing her that she'd have to get a new stapler because her current one appeared to be irreparable. And in those few seconds, Izaki made his move.

Indigo eyes shot up to look at the short boy, who was leaning heavily against the desk as if he had accidentally fallen onto it. The papers that she had organized had been shoved off of the desk, falling back to the floor and sliding apart, scattering in all directions. He grinned at her, pulling away from the desk and placing his hands in his pockets.

"Oops." He practically giggled. "Clumsy me."

Renei stared at him with a gaze hardened to steel.

If looks could kill...

And then she noticed from the corner of her eye, that the President was standing a ways away watching them.

"It's fine, Izaki." She straightened up and managed to smile at the idiotic twit. "Accidents happen." Badly, oh so badly, she wanted to add in a joke about how they probably happened in his bed all the time, since he probably still wore diapers. But making fun of his baby face wouldn't be very appropriate, nor would it appear professional. "If you won't help me clean this up, then I suggest you get going to your first class." She reached out and clapped him on the shoulder, broadening her smile. "Thanks for visiting with me this morning."

To her surprise, Izaki had no comeback to that, not a single snarky remark for her. He gave a jump at the contact she provided, and his eyes went wider and wider still as he noticed her actually giving him a smile. He didn't even seem to notice that it was fake.

And then he turned around and shot out of the room as quickly as humanly possible, which seemed like an utterly odd reaction to her. But at least he was gone now.

Renei reached behind to pull her hair out of its messy braid. If she was going to class as well, she might as well fix her hair first. "Nishihara... a question for you."

The other young man leaned down and started to collect the papers that had fallen. "What is the question?"

"How have you been able to work with him for so long?"

Oceanic eyes blinked stoically as he looked up at her. "Izaki-kun has never really bothered me. He only seems to enjoy terrorizing you."

"What about Takarabe? Did he like to terrorize her too?"

"No. Just you."

Renei twisted her features into an ironic smirk, thinking to herself that she was oh so very flattered. She tried to ignore it, but she thought she heard Tora snickering from across the room.

xx

Class was uninteresting, and Renei wasn't bothering to take notes today. She already had a firm understanding about today's topic, so she felt no need to write anything down. She was pretty smart on her own even without all the note taking and studying anyway, so she would be just fine.

Renei often found that when she had nothing to do, her brain would come up with random problems in her head. So she was starting to go over just why it was that Izaki liked to bug her so much, and then she was going over why Tora liked to do the very same. Why were they so... irritating? And on purpose, too. What had she ever done to them? Well... Igarashi had his own reasons for not getting along with her, but she had a feeling that Izaki was just following Igarashi's example. The events of today were really starting to give her a headache, and the day was still young, with many more hours of torment to come, she could just feel it. She should have heeded her own intuition and stayed in bed the moment she suspected that today would be all sorts of trouble.

Miyabigaoka seemed to be the place where devils liked to spawn in the human world.

She sighed, turning out of her seat a little so that she could raise one leg over the other and fold her arms. Her brain was far too worn out for her to be having these sort of conversations with herself, she should just... stop thinking for a moment.

Her eyes closed.

And suddenly, all the noises in the room became abnormally loud to her, pens tapping, pencils clicking, the teacher droning on, clothes ruffling, papers crumpling...

Her eyes shot back open, and she made a disgruntled sound.

A familiar quiet snickering off to her left caught her attention, and she turned her head to look into golden-yellow irises.

Renei furrowed her brow when she found that Tora was staring at her, one hand curled underneath his chin as he observed, with a slight grin at his mouth. She hadn't even noticed it until now, and she had no idea how long he had been like that for. What was known for certain though, was that he'd been laughing at her.

"Something funny?" She whispered, remaining totally calm despite the fact that his eyes were perforating her very soul, it seemed.

"Only the look on your face when you're thinking too hard about something." He murmured back, turning his gaze toward the front of the classroom so as not to arouse the sensei's suspicion.

Renei held back a sigh of relief as they broke eye contact. "You really do like to think that you know everything, don't you?"

"And you really do like making pointless accusations about me." His was said as a statement, not a question, and then his eyes met hers again with a strong gaze that appeared to be searching for something. It made her gut twist in discomfort.

Perhaps he had been staring at her for a lot longer than she was aware of during classes. She could sense that he was curious about something, she just didn't know what. Quite honestly, she didn't want to know, even if she was curious herself as to what was going on in his head, she felt it was better not knowing. However, if it was as simple as him wanting her to get mad at him for what he had said to her earlier, well, she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her emotions bubble over. So far today, she had managed to rein all the bitter resentment in, but the anger remained palpable every minute for her. She just wasn't going to show it, even if it was there, hiding directly beneath the surface.

Admittedly, it was hard to continue to keep it at bay. Before she had become reacquainted with the Igarashis, specifically Tora, she had never really been angry often. Small things didn't upset her, although she did get occasionally irritated when things were a mess, but then cleaning up the messes would be therapeutic for her and she'd instantly become calm again. Truthfully, she wasn't an angry person, and she tried to live her life optimistically and not cause trouble for others, nor get into trouble herself. Ergo, she wasn't accustomed to the emotions that Tora brought out in her. She didn't want to be angry, but she was so often when around him. Truthfully, she had every right to be mad after he spoke of her in such offensive and ridiculous ways. But she didn't want to dwell on it, she just wanted to get over it and prove to both him and herself that she was stronger than his petty words, and had the ability to move past them with ease.

It was hurting her pride that she couldn't seem to do that.

She just hadn't worked a lot with anger, or sadness, or any of those emotions, because she had the tendency to push them away. When her parents divorced and her mother left, she blocked out the pain because watching her father go through it had hurt her enough. She didn't need to add on to the hurt that was already there. And that's why it was hard to deal with being upset these days, because she didn't have enough practice with it to master it, and she feared that she'd make a fool of herself by exploding in anger, or bursting into tears at random. Thankfully, the fear seemed to take over all other emotions, so that she could put on a mask of sensibility and push all the bitter intensity away.

Speaking of intensity, Igarashi's gaze was starting to eat away at her nerves. Honestly, hadn't he looked at her enough? She turned her head away from him, but the feeling of him staring straight at her, through her, was still there. What was with him today? Something was off about him, she wasn't sure what it was, he was still being just as rude to her as ever, but something was definitely different. She had reason to believe (more like she was certain of it) that after what she had said to him yesterday evening, he took his anger out on the contents of her desk. Renei knew that she had upset him, though it wasn't exactly her intention to, and she wondered what he was willing to do now in order to get back at her for it. Whatever the case may be, she had a sneaking suspicion that he was hiding something from her.

But of course it was her own fault, since she was the one who had expressed her opinion so strongly about a topic that he was obviously uncomfortable with. What she did was like asking for him to wage war on her, but she was too stuck in her own ways to take back what she had said. Unfortunately for her, she'd given him some new incentive, and now he was planning something behind her back, something she definitely wouldn't like.

Then again, maybe he was right about her overthinking things, and that's what she was doing right now. Admittedly, it was a habit of hers.

However, there was also a thing called insight―

"Nakajima, you're going to burst a blood vessel in your brain if you continue on like that." Tora's voice suddenly breaking through her thoughts was just enough to make her jolt, accidentally hitting her knee underneath the desk.

She winced in pain, and a few students turned back to look at her. To her right Kaon was smirking, hoping the sensei had noticed and that Renei would get in trouble. But the sensei hadn't noticed, his back was facing the class as he wrote something down on the board. So Kaon turned away with a pout, and a few moments later, everyone else turned their attention back to the lesson.

"I get the feeling that having a cerebral aneurysm would be less of a danger to me than dealing with the likes of you today..." She admitted her suspicions aloud to Tora, who was smiling in amusement beside her.

"You know," He spread his hands behind his neck and leaned back in a move that was all self-satisfaction. "with the amount of strain you put on your brain, it wouldn't be a surprise if you already had one. And if all goes according to plan, I'll get to be the cause behind it finally bursting."

Renei couldn't withhold her scoff. "You're correct in assuming that thinking of you makes my brain bleed."

"How adorable." Tora widened his grin to the point of charming and raised an eyebrow. "You think of me?"

"Not nearly enough for it to classify as adorable."

"But just enough for it to make you have a hemorrhage in your brain? Seems like something like that would have to be caused by quite a lot of strain... From thinking about me so much. Probably while you're in bed."

There seemed to be no end to his cheekiness. What, was he bored or something? Renei pursed her lips and settled him with a sharp look, wordlessly willing him to shut up. She had to bite her tongue, or else she just might try to bite _him_. Because who knows what she was capable of in this state?

She had failed to notice that he was doing all this with the purpose of getting to see her look at him like that again. She also remained oblivious to the fact that the anger was breaking through her mask just enough to light a fire in her eyes, one that burned strongly and with a passion that raised the bar of his interest even higher.

xx

Renei took a step back, surveying her work with half a grin on her face.

After an hour of sorting through her things, organizing and rearranging them back onto her desk, she was finally finished! It would have taken her only half an hour if Izaki hadn't continued to 'accidentally' knock things off of the desk again when she wasn't looking. Several times, she had come close to grabbing her new stapler and stapling him to the wall, but there were too many witnesses for that so she had settled on counting to ten inside her head until the bursts of frustration passed.

Anyway, thankfully, everything was as it should be now.

"Izaki." She spotted him out of the corner of her eye before he could get too close. "If you dare to knock one more thing off of my desk even one more time, I will file a report against you." Her eyes met his as he 'casually' strolled by. "Mark my words."

He paused, and turned fully to face her. "Using your powers for evil now? I knew we'd bring you to the dark side eventually."

She sat down in her chair, not even having the energy to roll her eyes at him. "You don't need to be on the Student Council in order to file a report against someone."

Izaki smirked and leaned over her desk.

Meanwhile, Tora was sitting cozy in his office, looking over a few papers before he glanced at the time. He then murmured something to himself and stood up, making his way to the door.

When he stepped into the main room, he was pleased to see that Izaki was giving Renei an even harder time than usual, as Tora had asked him to. He hadn't had any doubts that the guy would do as he asked, and he knew he could trust him to give the usually calm and refined Secretary a run for her money. He moved towards them, picking up on their conversation and listening in.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Renei smiled sweetly to him, but her words were sub-zero. "We can learn to get along, I'm sure, somehow."

The Historian let out a little laugh. "Oh but I like seeing how far I can bend you, because I'm curious as to whether or not you'll eventually break."

"I don't bend for people, Izaki. And I especially never break."

"You sure about that? You don't even bend for, say, Igarashi?" The shorter boy lowered his voice to a suggestive tone. "He is your fiancé after all, so no one would blame you for it."

Renei jerked backwards in her seat at such an implication, providing a rather amusing reaction to anyone who was watching.

"Don't tell me you're engaged to the man and yet you're the only one he hasn't slept with." Izaki seemed to be half teasing, half wondering aloud.

"I would appreciate it," Renei closed her eyes and placed a hand to for forehead, looking like she was trying to fight off a headache. "if you would not involve yourself in our personal relations."

"So you haven't slept with him yet, huh? Well, that's a real shame." He leaned even further over the desk (a hard task for him given his size), placing his face an inch in front of her own and smiling. "I'm sure he's missing out, if it's any consolation."

The words were so unexpected, not to mention such a lewd compliment, that Renei became a bit flustered in her surprise and opened her mouth only to let out a breathy sound that was something along the lines of 'fwah?'

Neither of them had noticed his approach yet, so Tora chose that as the moment to clear his throat.

Renei looked around Izaki in order to see who was there, and her eyes narrowed when she saw that it was him. She probably figured that he was there to cause even more trouble for her. "Oh... President Igarashi... Do you need something? As you can see, I've finally cleaned up my desk."

"It must have been nice to have Izaki helping you." He said, knowing full well that Izaki had been more of a hindrance than anything.

She eyed the young man who was still leaning over her desk and smiling in her face. "Something like that."

"Oh I was a big help." Izaki pulled away and straightened up, facing Tora with a certain evil glimmer in his eyes. "I'm sure she really appreciated it."

Tora produced a smile, that fake one he kept on hand for such occasions as this. "I'm sure she did." He leaned down into the other boy's personal space, almost in an intimidating fashion, and his smile sharpened. "I think I can take it from here now Izaki."

With a nod and a bow of respect to the President, Izaki tossed one last sly glance at Renei over his shoulder before speeding away to do work at his own desk across the room.

"If you're done flirting with the other council members and congratulating yourself for a cleanup job that wasn't even challenging, I'd like to have a moment of your time." Tora trained his eyes on the only thing of interest to him at the moment ― the weary brunette. "We're having a meeting in five minutes. I need you to bring up some information from the last meeting for me before it starts."

"I was not flirting with him." Renei argued back, turning to her book bag and pulling out a slim laptop. As she spoke, she quickly opened the device at the desk and typed in the password for it. "And the cleanup was definitely more challenging than it should have been, given the fact that every five minutes a certain person would make a mess of my things all over again."

Before he could respond, she looked up and caught his eye. "What do you want me to pull up for the meeting?"

The talk that continued on from there between them was relatively normal ― as normal as things could ever get between them. This was a regular occurrence, seeing as they worked together and had to maintain this type of professional relationship. And even though Tora got nothing from it, Renei saw it as a good sign. A sign that, despite their differences, they could still work well together. It was proof to the theory that they were a perfect match for one another. They had never even had to talk about it, because they both automatically shared the opinion that recalcitrant interactions didn't fit into the working environment. They were both far too serious about business to allow their feuding to get in the way of certain responsibilities.

It was at times like these, where Tora was standing behind her and simply observing, explaining, or asking about something that had to do strictly with work, while she sat there typing away at her laptop and clicking on certain files for him, that Renei actually felt at peace with the blonde President. No, they weren't friends, and they still had a long way to go before they could even feel comfortable around one another. But their similarities, and this is exactly what Renei had been counting on, brought them together. They both had a strong work ethic, a high IQ, and could execute proper social skills when needed. These similarities made it easy to converse with one another, when they weren't arguing, that is. The arguing just seemed inevitable at this point though.

Renei didn't like him that much as a person, but Tora had so much in common with her that at certain rare times she appreciated his company, while at other far more frequent times, she found him absolutely stressful and annoying. And she could sense that the appreciation and annoyance went both ways, even if Tora would never admit that he could appreciate her every once in a while. These moments when the Student Council had settled into their work, and everyone was busy and calm, they were the nicest moments she ever got to spend with her fiancé. Working with one another distracted them from competing against one another, if only for a few brief moments.

And the time _was_ always brief. It never lasted long, because all spells had to be broken eventually. The nicest ones especially, seemed to have the shortest time limit on them.

"Hey there, Prez. We're here for the meeting, just like you asked."

Tora, Renei, and a few other people in the room turned their attention to the squad of teenagers that had pushed open the doors and invited themselves in (or, supposedly, Tora had been the one to invite them). Among the group were familiar faces, the person who had spoken was Tomu, accompanied by his sister Kaon on his right and his apparent girlfriend, Yayoi, on his left. Behind them came the rest of the Elite Group ― Ichitarou, Tenryu, and Yi Hua Li.

Tora straightened up from his bent position over Renei's shoulder and addressed them, "Thank you for coming." with a saccharine grin that may or may not still be able to fool the group after they'd seen it so many times. Renei suspected that they were all probably smart enough to know that it was an act, and they simply went along with it. "Take your seats in the meeting room next to my office and we'll all be joining you shortly. I just have to finish up with the preparations." He turned back around, facing the laptop again. "There are refreshments in the mini fridge, as always." He called back over his shoulder as everyone filed past.

xx

Less than ten minutes later, the Student Council members and the Elite Group were sitting around a long table where the meetings were always held in the back room. All was quiet, save for the giggling of Kaon, who was playing with her teddy bear in her lap. Renei didn't trust the fact that she hadn't tried to insult her yet, and was mentally preparing herself and putting up all of her walls for when she had to face the blonde girl's wrath.

Renei was lucky enough to find herself placed on the opposite side of the table from Kaon, sitting in between Nishihara and Tenryu. It was normal for her to sit beside Nishihara; the Secretary and the Treasurer often worked together during meetings, since he handled the finances and she assisted him in keeping an account of everything the Student Council spent their money on, what students and teachers requested they spend the money on, upcoming events they would need the money for, etc.

It was not normal, however, for her to be sitting anywhere near Tenryu. He wouldn't even be here had Tora not invited the Elite for some reason, and when they were in class together, he sat far away from her. She didn't really know him that well, so she didn't know what to expect when being put so close to him all of a sudden.

She certainly hadn't expected him to be the first to speak up though. And what he said had nothing at all to do with the meeting.

"Would it be a distraction if I styled Nakajima-san's hair during the meeting?" He asked, eyes wide (and in her personal opinion, crazed) with hopeful excitement as he directed his gaze towards Tora, since he was the one who called all the shots here.

One look at Renei's face had Tora nodding his head in agreement. "Whatever you want, Arashiyama. I know you've been wanting to get your hands on her for a while now."

The wording he used made Renei peer over at Tenryu suspiciously, wondering if he was some sort of pervert.

"Yes, her hair is a masterpiece! And there's so much of it to work with! All it needs is some volume to it and it'd be absolute perfection!" Tenryu didn't seem to mind the stares he was getting. He was totally in his element as he stood up behind Renei and began, without asking for her own approval, fiddling with the elastic holding up her ponytail.

"Wait, what are you ―"

In an instant, the elastic was pulled away and her hair fell down in a heap onto her back, a few strands landing to frame her face.

A low whistle pierced the air. "Nakajima," Naturally, Izaki took this opportune moment to tease her. "don't be so shy. Like I told you earlier, you look a lot better when you're letting your hair down for a change."

She was about to snap out a comeback when Arashiyama grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it back, distracting her for the time being.

And then the meeting started for real. Tora began by welcoming everyone there, and went right along with reviewing what happened in the last meeting, going over the papers he'd had Renei print out for him. The Elite Group wasn't involved in the conversation so far, in fact, they were all staring at Renei with little smirks on their faces as her hair was styled against her will. Izaki was barely managing to keep a straight face as well. Renei felt frustration boiling inside of her as every minute ticked by, ready to burst the moment someone decided to laugh at her current predicament. Here she was, Secretary of the Student Council, being treated like a doll that was supposed to just sit there and look pretty! Nishihara was the only one to take her seriously, but every time he tried to involve her in the conversation, either Tora or Izaki would pull his attention away from her, as if she wasn't important.

If Igarashi had planned this in order to piss her off, it was certainly working, she regretted to admit. She couldn't even take proper notes, which was her job during these meetings, what with the distraction of a strange beauty fanatic tugging at her hair and whispering little tips to her for how to handle it better.

There came a point where, in the middle of when she was trying to focus on the discussion about how to organize a school field trip for the different classes, that Arashiyama tugged her face towards him and started applying makeup from a kit he suddenly had strapped over his chest. This was her breaking point, and she had to fight his hands away for a few minutes before she could turn back to the group and state her mind.

"President, I fail to see why you invited everyone else today. If no one else besides the Council members are going to participate in the meeting, then please explain why they're here."

Tora's eyes flickered over to meet hers, and she felt dread in her veins when the golden irises seemed to glow with... something. Something that was playful, but not in the least bit happy or childish, in that sense. Because that look was accompanied by a small smile as dark as sin.

"They're here to listen in and give their own suggestions, since there are so few of us on the Council and we often like to take suggestions from other students." He replied, looking as if he was going to leave it at that right as Kaon decided to burst into a fit of giggles.

Renei's eyes snapped over to the other blonde, who was clutching Edward tightly as she tried to control her laughter. Everyone else at the table seemed to be amused as well, save for Nishihara, who was completely enveloped in an air of business, and Tora, who was glaring at Kaon to shut up as if she was ruining the punch line of a good joke.

Behind her, Arashiyama tried to turn her face back towards him again, lifting up what appeared to be lip gloss. Before he could swipe it across her lips, she grabbed it from him and gave him a look that caused him to take a step back and give her some space.

"Can I ask what is going on here? And if not that, then can I request that we please get back to the meeting?" Nishihara spoke up before Renei could throw the lip gloss at Kaon's face in order to get her to shut up already.

As Renei slowly lowered her hand with the lip gloss down into her lap, Tora looked first at Nishihara, then at every face around the table until he came back around to look straight at Renei. That sinful grin of his was back again, and it would seem it was there to stay.

"I was going to wait until after the meeting," _And torture Renei for much longer,_ he thought to himself. "but I suppose since we've already gone off track, I will talk about it now. But before I say anything more, I'll need _someone_ to quiet herself." The moment the demand was made clear, Tomu nudged his sister, who looked up just in time to catch Tora's look of warning. She sunk a tad lower in her seat and pressed her lips together in the usual pout.

With the whole room silent and listening with rapt attention, Tora leaned back in his large chair and placed his hands together in front of him. "Some of you may or may not be aware of this, but my mother's birthday is this weekend."

Renei noticed that this was not said in a tone that indicated he was excited about such an event.

"You and your families, I'm sure, will all be receiving your invitations in the mail very soon." Tora continued, moving to reach a hand into the jacket of his uniform. Probably from an inside pocket there, he pulled out a white envelope. "Something that looks like this." He set the envelope down on the table and gave it a flick. It sailed across the smooth lacquered surface and landed with barely a flutter in Renei's lap.

She picked it up and peered at it from every angle, handling it warily as if it might come alive and bite her. There was no address on it, but her surname was scrawled in flawless cursive across the center of it.

She met Tora's eyes, arching an eyebrow. She started to set it back on the table, but it would seem that wasn't what she was supposed to do with it.

"Open it." Igarashi told her, threading his fingers together and placing his chin in his hands. He looked expectant, like he knew that her curiosity would win out against her circumspection.

Renei's hands maneuvered to open up the envelope, and slowly, carefully, she pried open the flap and pulled out an ivory slip of paper. An invitation, by the looks of it. She read aloud:

"The Igarashi Family and Corporation invites you to a Grand Birthday Gala..."

As she went on to read the day of the event, the attire required for guests to wear, where the event would be taking place and for how long it would go on for, everyone in the room listened and waited for her to finish. When she was done, she carefully placed the paper back in the envelope and set it on the table, more or less confused as to why Tora was having her help him announce this, and why he was even bothering to make such a big deal out of it when he obviously didn't care that it was a party for his mother.

"I hope that you and your families will all be able to attend." Tora spoke up, smiling cordially and leaning back again. "Now that we've gone over that, I'd like to ask a favor of the Elite. You see, while all of us are accustomed to these sorts of gatherings, I don't think that Nakajima, being the country-raised citizen that she is, knows much about them."

Renei could sense where this was going, and with the way Kaon was looking at her with that eerie smile, she was sure that this had been discussed beforehand when she wasn't around. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do already, this whole thing was just a set up to make her extremely uncomfortable.

"Renei-san."

She looked up when Tora said her name.

"Tomorrow after school, Yi Hua Li and Kaon will take you out to get a dress and shoes for the event."

"You want me to go shopping with them?" Renei couldn't keep the incredulity out of her tone.

"And on the day of the event, Arashiyama will be your hair dresser as well as your makeup artist."

"I'm perfectly capable on my own ―"

"As for Takarabe, Tomu, and Ichitarou, they weren't really needed here today, I'm sure they just came along to see your reaction to all of this. But if you are in need of it, you can consult them on the proper way to act when attending a big social event."

Now he was just flat out mocking her, and reveling in it.

She stood from her seat, and looked directly at her fiancé with the straightest face she could manage. "I'm not going."

Izaki laughed out loud at that, either mocking her or laughing at the fact that she would dare to go against what the President asked of her.

Tora remained calm in the face of her refusal. "It will look bad to my parents if you don't."

Renei moved past Arashiyama and his makeup kit and headed for the door, leaving her party invitation on the table. "I'm sure they will forgive me."

"Perhaps. But are you really okay with making your brother look bad?"

She paused at the door, and could feel everyone watching her. Taking a deep breath, she wondered if Tora was bluffing or not. Masao wasn't going to attend the party, he didn't even know about it yet.

Or did he?

If he did, he would go, because he was actually good friends with Tora's parents. But would it really make him look bad if she didn't go with him? If people asked about her, if people even knew about her that is, then he could just make up a believable excuse as to why she couldn't come.

But then again, leaving Masao unsupervised with Tora in the same vicinity didn't seem like a situation that would end well. And if Tora didn't drive Masao to the point of choking him, then the blonde just might have other ways of making her brother look bad.

Was this to be considered a threat then? If she didn't attend and be Tora's little victim that he could play around with at a party that would otherwise leave him bored, then he would simply choose to victimize her brother instead? Is that what this was?

As much as she didn't want to let that happen, or be the cause behind it happening, she had to remind herself that Masao was a grown man who could take care of himself. He didn't need his little sister looking out for him.

Also, her pride wasn't going to allow her to give in to Tora when all these other people were watching.

Opening the door, she stepped out with these parting words, "I'm sure he will forgive me as well. My apologies Igarashi, but I will not play dress up doll with you and your friends. Now if you'll excuse me..." But she didn't wait to be excused as she closed the door and left.

xx

Later on, with the meeting now adjourned, Tora sat in his office waiting for Maki to walk through the door. Thankfully, it didn't take too long.

"I'm glad you called for me President, I've been wanting to speak with you." The Vice President waited until he had closed the door behind himself and taken a seat before he spoke.

He was received with a nod. "I know. But first,"

Judging by the way the President sat straight forward in his seat, and how his eyes shimmered with that look he always got when he wanted something, Maki knew that he was called here for more than just a simple chat. Not that he ever expected something like that from someone like Tora. Tora wasn't a chatty man, he was a calculating one, often even a cold one.

"I want some good information for once, Maki, something that I can use. Something that gets me what I want." His whole being radiated confidence and authority as he looked across the table at the other young man. "Tell me that you've found that for me." He demanded.

Maki hid the fact that he was slightly offended by Tora showing a lack of trust in his abilities, and instead went straight into an explanation of his recent findings. "I believe that I have. It has come to my attention that Nakajima has been in the city all this time, yet she has not once tried to contact her mother. My sources say that she hasn't even payed her a visit. I suspect that their relationship may be out of sorts, and that Nakajima is purposely avoiding her mother. I haven't been able to find out the whys behind it all, but I don't think that information is as important as all the rest."

Tora's unrelenting stare gave away nothing about what he might be thinking, and it had the tendency to make any person nervous, occasionally even his raven-haired underling. Maki felt that maybe he should say more, but was cut off before he said another word.

"Maki." The name was said too plainly to tell if Tora was pleased or not.

"Yes, President."

"This information has just enough value to it to be considered useful. I suspect it will be helpful to me from here on out." He pressed his hands together and splayed his fingers as he said this. It was an old habit of his, to do little things like that with his hands when he was sitting lost in thought, or planning something. Maki didn't really find it to be annoying, but he himself was more the type to always sit still when conducting business. "I want you to make sure that Miyuki Sekine makes it on the guest list for my mother's party."

"From what I've heard, she is already on the guest list."

"Make sure of it. And make sure that she attends. Also," Tora went on. "I want Nakajima there as well. She claims she's not going. Change her mind for me."

To this, Maki didn't answer right away. From what he knew of Nakajima's personality so far, she was not the type that was easy to negotiate with, because she didn't like changing her mind once it was made up. "How do you suppose I go about that?"

Tora sighed. "I don't know, be creative. You can do whatever you like, just make her change her mind one way or another. And don't ask me how to go about it, you're supposed to know how to accomplish these tasks on your own." He sent Maki a slightly irritated look, and the other boy responded by bowing his head politely. Apparently, the President wasn't in the best of moods for some reason.

"My apologies, I know I'll be able to figure something out. Can I ask the Elite Group to assist me?"

"Of course. They're already at your disposal." The blonde waved a hand dismissively, suggesting that he had already spoken to the others about trying to persuade Renei. "Now, if you don't have any further questions about this, we can talk about whatever it is you've been waiting to discuss with me all day. Feel free to speak your mind."

The air seemed a little less heavy as Maki relaxed his tense body back further into his chair. Having the rest of the conversation now lying in his lap to do with as he pleased, he started out with a simple statement. "I've noticed that you've recently acquired a new attitude toward Nakajima-san."

Like his comrade, Tora reclined in his seat and took on a more relaxed position. There was a pause where Maki looked thoughtfully at Tora, and Tora raised both eyebrows casually, not seeming to be all that affected by what had just been said. "And?"

"Before now," The raven-haired boy seemed the slightest bit hesitant, worried that he might overstep his boundaries. But, like any human being, he was curious. And because he had known Tora for such a long time, it's not as if he didn't have any business inquiring about the other's life. "you treated her as if she's nothing of any importance. At most, you found her to be entertaining every once in a while, but you never did seem to take a specific liking to her... But now, it appears to me that there's been a change." He peered closely at the other's face, but didn't find any signal there that said he should stop. "It's suddenly as if you're seeing her for the first time, and I'm wondering if you actually like what you see."

"I still don't want to marry her, if that's what you're inquiring about."

Maki accompanied his friend in smirking. "I'm aware of that. What I'm asking is... are you warming up to the idea?"

"Tch!" The sound was half derision, half amusement. Tora looked away, shocked that he had just been asked this. "Hardly."

Maki had thought not. But he still had another question. "Then," He watched Tora carefully as he proceeded with the next inquiry. "are you warming up to _her?_ "

There was quite an uncertain and almost like a tad awkward silence at that. Tora's face showed nothing, it was completely blank with his emotions concealed, and it would've taken a mind reader to understand what his true and first reaction had been to the question. Maki thought he had already known the answer, and the way Tora became all at once still and unresponsive only provided his conclusion with more proof. However, one could never be certain when it came to someone as practiced in the art of acting and manipulation as the young Igarashi.

"All that's happened, Kanade." When Maki heard his first name, he knew that was a signal to drop the subject. The questions were becoming too personal. "Is that she's finally managed to catch my attention. Took her a while, don't you agree? I wonder myself about it, about how long she can keep this up. I don't know if my interest in her has the potential to last."

That last bit was what Maki was looking for. 'My interest in her' was a tiny, tiny confession. Tora may not have caught it in time, or wasn't aware that it was a small admission, but Maki took it and saved it in a file in the back of his mind. For now, he wouldn't be pressing the matter any further ― if he did, he was sure that the President would end the conversation and ask him to leave. Besides, he had gotten what he had set out to get, answers. Only a few of them, but Maki wasn't a greedy man, and he wouldn't ask for more than what he was already given. Tora could only be lenient for so long, and Maki knew that him allowing all these questions to be asked was a favor, and nothing more than that. Tora could have sent Maki away and not spoken to him about it at all, he only didn't do that because Maki had given him such helpful information regarding Renei and her mother; which Maki was certain would be used for blackmailing purposes, but, that was business for you. Blackmail was but one of many other tricks of the trade.

"I think I'll take my leave now." He stood up, bowed deeply, and turned to leave the office. His welcome at this point was overstayed.

"Wait a moment."

Tora caught Maki's eye as the Vice President halted and turned back, and his golden orbs stared approvingly at his comrade. It was as if their conversation just now had never even happened, while Tora pretended not to be upset for a few fragile moments.

"As always with you... Good work. That information you provided me with will be put to good use."

Maki smiled, knowing that this was Tora's way of apologizing for how he had acted as if Maki couldn't do anything right when he first walked in the room. Though the words weren't spoken, Maki knew that the President had simply been in a bad mood and taken it out on him. And he didn't want Maki thinking that he didn't have any faith in him, because in truth, Tora had a lot of faith in him. It was the most faith he had ever put into any person. "Of course. I wouldn't want to get on your bad side, after all."

Tora smirked. "No you would not." He leaned back, looking somewhat worn out. "You've seen what happens when people get on my bad side."

"That I have." Maki responded lightly as he walked towards the exit. "However, I haven't ever witnessed someone reacting to that side of you in the way that Nakajima does. It's as if she welcomes it, asks for it, only to push it away. Maybe she likes playing with you just as much as you like to play with her."

"Who knows?" Tora drawled, tilting his head back and staring into the air for a few seconds before closing his eyes. A small, brief smile found its way onto his face. "Maybe she does. She might be just as bored with life as I am. And I admit, I'm a lot of fun to play with. She probably can't help herself."

Maki almost decided against making a little joke. Almost. "She certainly can't keep her hands off of you. Which is why I'm going to go persuade her to reconsider spending time with you at your mother's party, correct?"

Tora tilted his head forward again and frowned at the other. "Since when did you have a sense of humor?"

Maki shrugged, offering no reply to that and quickly escaping the office before he got to see the President's bad side come out to play.

xx

Renei had never been more happy to see her brother's chauffeur pull up at Miyabigaoka's entrance. And then when the drive was over and they pulled up in front of the large apartment complex, she'd never been more happy to see the tall, impressive building. And the moment she walked through the revolving doors, fresh, beautiful relief flooded through her along with the usual scents of window cleaner and floor polish.

As she approached the elevators, she gave a kindly smile and a small nod to the old man reading a magazine at the front desk. "Evening, Danno-san."

He tsked and shook his head, summery green eyes peering up to squint in her direction. "Evening Renei-san. I see you're still not calling me by my first name."

"Don't take it personally, I'm a very formal woman." She winked at him, something he would usually do to her, and he let out a laugh and went back to reading his magazine.

It wasn't until the elevator dinged and the doors opened up for her that Mr. Danno seemed to suddenly remember something. He shot out of his seat and called out to her, trying to grab her attention before she left. "Wait a moment there missy, I almost forgot, but I have something for you here!"

Curious, Renei moved away from the elevators and accompanied him at his desk as he started rummaging around for something. He pushed aside a sandwich wrapper, a few stray sticky notes, several magazines and an empty can of soda before finally lifting up an envelope with an exclamation of 'aha!'. By the time he turned to her and held it out for her to take, she was folding her arms and giving him a look that was somewhere between a scowl and a smirk.

"What?" The old man blinked innocently.

"Is your desk always this out of sorts? If Masao saw it, he'd have a stroke."

Benjiro rubbed the back of his neck with a hand and laughed uneasily. "You're not gonna rat me out to him, are you? He's already talked to me about this... several hundred times..."

Renei reached out and plucked the envelope from his grasp. She glanced at his messy desk, winced slightly, and met his gaze again. "At least put your lunch in the wastebasket."

He offered her a toothy grin. "You sound just like your brother."

"Well, we are siblings." She drew her attention to the envelope, which she didn't think anything of until she turned it over and saw the familiar cursive scrawl of her name across the back. Her face fell, as did her mood. "Danno-san, where did this come from?"

"The envelope? A young man dressed up in Miyabigaoka's uniform came by before you got here and dropped it off, telling me to give it to you when I saw you. He also asked that you please reconsider attending the party." Mr. Danno leaned down and tried to catch her attention by looking up at her around the side of the envelope she was trying to burn a hole through with her eyes. "What party is he talking about, if you don't mind me asking? And why don't you wanna go?"

She ignored his childish behavior and pressed him for answers. "Did the young man have black hair and small, squinted eyes?" She asked. "And did he act so polite that it made him seem stiff?"

"Yes, that description fits the boy I talked to."

Renei fought the urge to groan in frustration. Of course Tora would have Maki start pestering her about this. Of course. "Thank you for relaying the message, but if he comes in here again, or if a tall blonde boy comes in, also from Miyabigaoka, could you please politely send them away? And if they ask for me, tell them that I'm not here." She met his gaze and repeated insistently. "Always tell them that I'm not home."

The old man raised his eyebrows up so high, they almost receded into his hairline. "Got yourself into a bit of trouble with the fellas?"

"Actually, they're more like devils." When he gave her a questioning look, she slowly started to explain. "Okay, well... the blond one is my fiancé, and the other one is his friend..."

His green eyes practically bulged out. "A love triangle?"

"What?! No! That's not it at all!" Renei went rigid at the thought of being caught in something as messy as a love triangle, and desperately tried explaining it to him so that he didn't think that of her. "You see, his friend doesn't like me in that way. He just bothers me whenever my fiancé asks him to, like in this situation, my fiancé asked me to attend this big party and when I declined the invitation, he most likely gave his friend the task of getting me to go. They kind of, work together as a team." _To get on my nerves,_ she thought to herself.

"Why don't you want to go to the party? Wouldn't it be fun?" Mr. Danno seemed completely baffled by the situation.

"It's not the party that bothers me, it's the way he asked me to attend that does." Renei stared at the envelope again and sighed heavily. "He embarrassed me in front of our other classmates... And he demanded that I go shopping with them for a dress, and let them do my makeup ― basically it was all a set up for them to treat me like their own personal dress up doll. And he's well aware of how much something like that would bother me, that's why he planned it like this."

"He seems... Difficult to get along with."

Renei rolled her eyes at the understatement. "He is." And then she suddenly remembered, that Danno and Masao were friends. And she didn't want Masao knowing about all of this. "Danno-san, as a favor for me, could you please not mention any of this to my brother? He's overprotective, and I'm not in danger or anything. I'm just annoyed, but I can handle these things on my own." She made sure he was looking her in the eyes, made sure he knew this was important. "I really need you not to tell him about this. It's just better that way."

It was hard to tell what was going on in the old man's head when she asked this favor of him, but in the end, he smiled with a nod. "I won't tell if you won't tell." He gestured to the mess on his desk space and gave her a wink.

She smiled back. "My lips are sealed, but I'm not helping you clean up this mess before he gets home." She started to turn around when something he said then caused her to freeze.

"Actually, he's already up there. In fact, I think he's been waiting for you. Said something about needing to have a talk with you when you got home today."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all of the support and reviews ^-^ These are for you~ *hands over a batch of freshly baked cookies*

Review Responses are down below!

 **Bailey Webster:** Awwwww, thank you :) You're such a sweetheart. I'm glad you feel valued when I answer to your reviews, because you truly are valued, and I really appreciate you. I love all of my readers very much! I will continue to, as you said, use my emotions as expression in my writing.

 **Ka-tay's mind:** *HUGS BACK* That's really all I needed. A hug. I love hugs. Thank you dearie :) So, team Shinei is winning you over right now, huh? Well then, I'm sorry to have excluded Shin from this chapter. Maybe he'll make an appearance in the next one ;)

 **Guest 1137:** Thanks for the love, luv. ^_^ Your review gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. D'awww.

 **MystearicaBlaze:** Have I ever told you that your name is cool? Cuz I was typing it out just now and I thought 'wow, what a cool username'. Anyway, looks like you're a Renora shipper! How'd you like this chapter? There was some Renora action in this one, nothing super cute but I mean, drama is fun too! Bad boys make for a good story, teehee. It's so fun to use them and all their evilness to give the story a dramatic flare.

 **Guest Grammar Nazi:** I'm so glad you're getting excited for the rivalry between Tora and Shin! Honestly, as the author, I can hardly wait for it to get started! BECAUSE JEALOUS LOVE TRIANGLES ARE JUST EXCITING, OKAY. Sometimes I hate having to build things up (Even though it makes for a great story) because I have so many ideas that excite me and I just want to add them all in at once! To answer your question, yes, that does mean that we think alike. At least, I think that we do. Also, I know you're curious, I'm glad you're curious, but I can't even form a response to all that you talked about because I'm afraid I might accidentally give something away! And I refuse to divulge my plans for the future of this fic! So for now, please remain curious. *smiles apologetically* Also, hello fellow American! Btw, thanks for saying my pun was clever ^-^ I thought it kinda was.

 **SakKim98:** Haha, you didn't creep me out don't worry *returns virtual hug* Thanks for the hug and all the fluffy affections :3 You guys and your reviews always make life seem less lonely. I love you people and your amazing support!

You people have such beautiful hearts :)

Love, CK:*


	12. Blasphemy

A/N: Someone asked me to put the review responses at the beginning of the chapter due to it being distracting at the end of the chapters, so I guess I'll be doing that now.

This goes out to all of you who reviewed, just so I don't have to say it repeatedly: You. Are. So. Sweet. Like... all of you, just... Wow. To think that I can get such good reviews for my writing is... it just waters me down to a loose bundle of happy, sappy noodle-y joy. If that makes even a sliver of sense.

Moving on―

 **Guest:** Thank you :) You have a dog and a horse? Awww what are their names? And yes I agree, the world is very messed up because of the people in it, but there's also a lot of beauty in people so I'm always feeling conflicted about life :/ All I say is, let's all spread the love just as best as we can! Yaaaay world peace! Also, lol my wifi is ALWAYS temperamental, so I feel ya. I don't even know how I'm able to get these updates posted half of the time.

 **sarasa:** No YOU'RE amazing. For saying that I'M amazing. Hahaha jk, you're amazing either way and thank you for the kind comment about my work ^/^

 **SakKim98:** Look at where I put the review replies ;) You're welcome. I love chocolate! I loved that analogy! And it wasn't bothersome! ^_^

 **MystearicaBlaze:** Whew! Oh thank GOD you enjoyed that chapter so much! I worked on it for DAYS. Seriously, you people don't even know... Anyway, thank you :)

 **Ka-tay's mind:** Sorcery you say? Oh crap. You found me out! I'm MAGICK! With a 'K', because I'm CK. Such a thoughtful review, as always from you. You have this tendency to make my day ^_^ Thanks.

 **RandomFandoms14:** Hahaha Tora would give ol' Lucifer a run for his money X'D And thank you. Yesh, cats are such lovely strange little funny alien creatures! I love them. It's sad that your friend's cat also died :(

 **CMJ:** Hello there! Thank you, it warms my heart to know that you're enjoying the ride I'm taking you on with this story! :D To answer your question:  Complicated is the focus word I'd use for Tora's personality. He's handsome, educated, well-mannered, and rich, so he's got a pretty together life on the surface, but I think it's a well known fact that nobody's life is that easy and perfect. There's definitely a certain twisted quality to him, a bitterness that sort of sneaks its way in there, despite his so-called 'perfectly together' life. He has a threatening side lurking there that, once it rears its ugly head, can tell you right away that he is a person you DO NOT want to mess with. Or even really involve yourself with at all. Overly complicated people like that are scary, because they seem one way and then in truth, they're a whole other way. It kind of throws you for a loop and gets you into all sorts of trouble with them.

Tora is like a jigsaw puzzle: something that requires the assembly of oddly shaped pieces that are somehow supposed to interlock, and create a complete picture. No one has even come close to correctly piecing together his complete picture, they always get confused by all his different shapes. How do you fit his shapes together in a way that makes sense? Well you can't, really. Like I said, he's _complicated_. Or an even better word for it, _labyrinthine_. (Which is one of my favorite words^-^) In conclusion, I'd say that his personality is tortuous in a torturous way ;D Gotta love that clever wordplay! Lol I'm just a dork with a dictionary aren't I?

 **Guest:** "I need my Tora fix!" Lol okay okay, I will give it to you now.

* * *

"Ask no questions and you'll get no lies,

Turn the cheek and blind the eye (let it go),

Bend the knee and give away your life,

Bite your tongue and close your mind (never know)."

― Bring Me The Horizon, _Blasphemy_

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Blasphemy

...

Renei knocked a few times on her brother's bedroom door. She could hear him mumbling to himself on the other side, and she wondered if he'd be fine with her entering of her own accord. She knocked again, louder this time, and again waited and listened to what sounded like him arguing with himself before making the decision to let herself in.

She was puzzled to find that he had a suitcase opened on his bed, and was carefully folding clothes and placing them inside of it. Also, he apparently hadn't been talking to himself but was actually talking on his cell phone; it was cradled awkwardly between his shoulder and his cheek so that he could have his hands free.

"Masao?"

He didn't break focus, but he did acknowledge her by holding up a finger in her direction in a 'wait one moment' gesture.

She decided to sit down at his desk and wait patiently while listening to him babble.

"And make sure that they aren't late to _any_ of their practices!" He was saying into the phone, and then in a darker tone he added, "I mean it, Anna-san, punctuality is important and these kids need to learn to do better with that!" There was a tense break in his speech. "...I really appreciate the thought you put behind worrying for me, but my blood pressure is just fine. I don't need to calm down, I am calm. At least as calm as I can be when they're meeting with PR for their first album at the end of next week and I won't be working with them for the next four or five days, an entire week at most! That gives me a very small window of time to work with them once I return!"

Renei glanced at the suitcase again and pondered the part about him being gone for almost a week. While she contemplated that, the person on the other end of the call spoke up once more.

And then Masao said something in reply that had Renei's head snapping so fast back in his direction, it almost gave her whiplash. "Of course I'm still going. It's for my father's sake."

She stood up, not missing a single beat now. "What about father? Is it his mental health? I thought he was doing well before I left, did he stop taking his pills or something? I told the twins to make sure he kept taking them..."

Masao tossed her a cursory glance, one that told her to calm herself. He readjusted the phone to rest against his opposite ear, then continued folding his clothes neatly into his suitcase. "Thank you for everything, Anna-san. I have to go now. I should finish packing, and there are still a few other things that I need to take care of. Give the band my best, and keep the pantries at the studio well-stocked with sweets, but watch out for Yoshikawa's nut allergy. Make sure Miss Yang gets her bass tuned properly before each session, it's been a little temperamental lately. Don't let Jakushi eat too many sweets, and feel free to confiscate his video games until he's finished polishing that last song. It has to be perfect, and he's been procrastinating far too much. _Make sure_ he actually works on it, because it's the last song on the album, we're so close to being done, and it's always at the end that something tends to get messed up. As for Okimoto... it'll be fine for you to just leave him alone. He kind of does his own thing and somehow, it works, so I try not to mess with it. You should never mess with a good thing, especially in this business. So just leave him be, he doesn't ever respond much when you try to interact with him anyway."

"Masao, I think she's heard enough." Renei stepped in; she had to, or else he'd only keep going on and on from there.

He sighed and nodded to her, then was listening for a moment to the voice on the other end of the phone. To Renei's surprise, he smiled the slightest bit and ended the call with, "Yes, yes. I know I have nothing to worry about. You're almost as good as I am at this job, and I think the kids seem to like you better than me... I'll try to relax. Really, I will... and... thank you. I'll see you when I get back."

And with that, he ended the call, still smiling just a bit.

"Who was that?" Renei was concerned about what exactly was going on with her father and what Masao was leaving to go do, but she was also extremely curious about whoever it was on the other end of that call who had her brother acting... a tad out of character. Normally on work calls, he was abrupt, stern, and remained totally one-hundred percent serious to the very end.

"Anna Ikewaki." Masao took his phone away from the crook of his shoulder and sat down on the bed. He had finished his packing right as he hung up, having worked through all the folding and neat placement with ease while at the same time giving Anna the entire list of things she needed to take care of in his stead. He had always been a good multi-tasker.

Renei stood there quietly for a moment, cocking her head to the side a little bit. "And who is she?"

"My coworker. A friend of sorts."

She raised an eyebrow as he purposely avoided her gaze. "Of sorts?"

"We've worked in the same department for a long time, and because of that we've developed what could be called a close bond. Of sorts."

"Stop saying of sorts." Renei was grinning now. Something was up. She was certain of it. "It makes it seem like there's something else going on between you two."

Masao showed several different faces then, each in equally odd and hilarious succession of the next: first was shock, then it went from shock to embarrassment, embarrassment to denial, and in the end he just looked scandalized.

Yes, something was definitely up between him and this 'Anna' woman.

"How can saying two simple words make it seem like..." He cut himself off and quickly readjusted his glasses. A nervous habit of his. "Never mind. You obviously don't know what you're talking about."

Renei smirked and raised the other eyebrow as well. "Oh, but don't I?"

Masao was quickly turning pink in his cheeks. "You... just... Sit down. I need to talk to you about what's going on."

"Between you and Anna?"

" _No_ , that is not what I meant."

She sat back in his desk chair again, but her smirk was still in place. "Avoiding the topic makes you seem all the more guilty of having feelings for―"

Masao decided it was best to speak over the top of her. "Father is ill and I'm taking a family leave from work in order to go visit with him. He's struggling with his finances due to the fact that he can't focus on them while in the mental and emotional state that he's in. The doctor said that he needs his oldest son there to take care of things for a while."

The room grew silent after he dumped all of the information on her like that. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he shouldn't have said it all at once... but he felt it was the only way to distract her from that other topic... for the time being. (Because surely, she would go back to interrogating him about his social life eventually. He just wasn't prepared for it right now).

Renei folded her hands carefully in front of herself, looking contemplative, with a furrowed brow that showed her concern clearly. "I thought Daisuke had it all under control?"

"Daisuke? He can't handle any of this, not without some form of assistance. For starters, he's bad with money. He can barely even count it. Having him help our father with the finances would be a terrible move. Secondly, he has a job, and because finances are tight right now for them, he's been working as much as possible, which means he's hardly ever home anymore. Also, he's simply not mature enough to handle these sorts of matters in the most proper and efficient ways."

"What about Yumiko?"

"Being an RPT, she's better working with pianos rather than people. She doesn't know how to be a caretaker, which is what father needs right now. Also, I think it was overall a mistake to rest the responsibility of looking after our father on the twins. I'm the oldest child, not them, so I should be the one to take care of the family when our parents aren't fully able."

Renei was about to mention how their mother was fully able, in fact, she was extremely well off and could take care of all of them if she wanted to. But she decided not to mention their mother, since she didn't want to start that type of conversation, or rather, argument, with her older brother. If there had been a side that Masao had taken after the divorce, he pretty much took their mother's side. Though he still kept in touch with their father through the years, it was their mother that he had stayed with, and ended up working with in the same industry. He had moved to the city along with her, claiming that he didn't want her to be alone, that he didn't want her totally separated from the family; though it was obvious to everyone that he was meant for the city life like her, not the country life like their father, and that's the main reason he must have left.

And now he was going back to that place where he felt blocked and cornered, stuck, like their mother had felt before the divorce. Back to that estate in the countryside where their father was withering away, and where their siblings stayed because they had always had too much anxiety around leaving.

Now that Renei thought about it, she realized how depressing it felt there, and she could understand just a little bit why her mother and Masao wanted to leave. Compared to this apartment with Masao in the city ― this exciting life with so many new people to meet and places to be ― that big, empty house in the countryside seemed far too bare, far too... lonely.

But it wasn't always that way, she reminded herself. Five years ago, everything changed. When her mother left, when Masao left, when her father broke down and her sister stopped communicating and Daisuke started getting himself into even more trouble than usual in order to get the attention he was starving for... that's when the house became lonely, and rotten. And come to think of it, that's when she, herself, changed too.

It's strange, how powerful of an effect family has on you.

Masao turned to close his suitcase, snapping the clasps in place before standing up and setting it on the floor by his feet. "I'll be gone for four, maybe five days. If all goes well, I'll be back in three. If things are worse than I expected, I could be gone for a week. The time will vary depending on the circumstances, but I'm estimating four to five days because that's somewhere in the middle." He pulled the handle of the suitcase up and rolled it over to Renei, handing it to her. "Could you take that to the door for me? I just need to grab my other bag."

Renei stood there for a moment, processing his words, and then fulfilling his request. He met her at the front door a few minutes later, work bag in hand. She decided not to comment on it. Knowing him and his workaholic nature, he would take it with him no matter what she said because if he could spare some time, he would like to go over his work while he was away, even though he was supposed to be on family leave.

While he started putting on his shoes, she managed to voice the question she'd been holding on the tip of her tongue. "So, you're leaving right away?"

"I would have left sooner, but I wanted to talk to you in person about what was going on before I left. The sooner I get there, the sooner I'll be back, and I definitely don't want to be away from my work too long... also, I really don't feel comfortable with leaving you alone for very long."

"I'll be fine."

He finished with his shoes and stood up straight, looking down at her with an expression that said it all. Concern, hesitation, and doubt. But mainly doubt. Which is what offended her the most. "Are you certain? Because you know that mother is―"

"A busy woman. She won't have time for me and I won't be making any time for her." Renei interjected, and before he could respond to that, she moved forward and gave him a hug. "I'll be good while you're away, there's no need to put me in someone else's care because I can take care of myself. I'll avoid the kitchen, I won't stay out too late, and I'll get myself to school every morning just like I always do. Don't worry over nothing. Just trust me. And please give father and the twins my best."

He rested one hand on her head and held her there for a moment longer. "I will. And you forgot to say that you won't invite any boys over while you're unsupervised."

Renei snorted into his shirt. "The thing is Masao, there are no boys that I would even _want_ to have over."

"Good. Let's keep it that way." He pulled out of the hug and smiled at her. "I promise not to worry about you if you promise you won't worry about dad and everyone else. Deal?"

Renei smiled back, but it was a tad uneven. "Deal. Although, both of us are definitely going to break those promises."

Her brother merely shrugged, shouldered his work bag, and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. She opened the door for him, and on his way out the door his parting words to her were, "I guess it's alright to worry a little. That's just what you do when you care about someone."

xx

Renei was out on the balcony, staring at the night sky, one diluted by light pollution. One that looked nothing like the vastly star studded skies in the countryside.

Honestly she wasn't sure what she was doing at the moment, perhaps she had simply come out here to reminisce, but it was only making her feel slightly homesick, and alone.

Turns out, being cooped up in an apartment by yourself could feel just as lonely as being cooped up on a giant, empty estate.

Leaning over the railing, she turned her gaze down to the streets below. Cars zoomed by, and motorcycles made that irritating buzzing noise, not nearly as lovely as the sound of bees roaming from flower to flower at this time of year. Where was the wildlife? She sort of missed that. Or really missed it.

Being alone didn't feel so lonely when she was out surrounded by nature. She was outside more often than inside back at home, which was why her skin was so tan and sprinkled with freckles. The shining sun, the wide blue sky, the tall green grasses, the sunflower fields, and the occasional stray dog or ladybug crossing her path were what she considered friends. They all gave her a feeling of comfort. And comfort was a feeling that she was struggling to find in the city. Masao leaving so abruptly had caused her to realize that this apartment only felt cozy when it was occupied by two.

So what was she supposed to do here, alone, anywhere from three days to a week? It was only the first night and she already felt stir-crazy. And at this time of night, in the city, she couldn't go outside past the radius of the balcony. Thinking back to her old home, she missed being able to go up on the roof and stargaze, or being able to take moonlit walks through the back garden or neighboring fields.

Renei was overcome with the need to get out and do _something_. She should have gone with Masao, but she hadn't thought to ask, since he had been in such a hurry and everything happened so fast. Well, since she missed her chance to visit home, what could she do here in the city in order to pass the time?

"I could go to that party this weekend." She quietly murmured, the thought of the party having not crossed her mind for quite some time until just now. Apparently, Masao hadn't found out about it yet, or he surely would have said something about her needing to attend. She was glad for that, because she truly didn't want to go, if only to spite Igarashi for his actions at school. It might seem silly and a bit childish of her to be so stubborn about something so simple, but she had to assert herself. As a woman who knew how she deserved to be treated, she wouldn't settle for anything less than him asking her out like a gentleman. She wasn't going anywhere if he tried to goad her into it. She had too much pride for that, and surely he must be aware of that on some level. He knew she wouldn't roll over and obey, yet he still tried to get her to do as he said anyway. His actions recently were like that of a scientist conducting tests on a patient, trying to uncover some sort of anomaly from within her.

It all boiled down to how much he loved his games, she decided. The games are why he did these things ― because he was bored, and she was something new to get his hands on. She still wasn't sure if he was treating her more like a toy, or an opponent; if he was playing with her, or challenging her. Maybe, it was a bit of both. And today had felt like something of an experiment. He had seemed to be trying harder than usual, and watching her extra closely for a reaction.

Renei wasn't sure what exactly he was hoping to achieve, but his attentions were cruel enough to frustrate her. At least he was starting to acknowledge her more though. That was the only positive she could draw from the day's events. Even if it was in ways that she didn't like, he was showing that he wanted to interact with her, meaning that she didn't have to put forth all of the effort anymore. In his own irritating way, he was meeting her halfway. Their relationship was changing, even if it was by the slightest bit, and she would call that an improvement.

Frankly though, she didn't have a very clear idea of what she owed this small victory to. Now that his interest had piqued, so had her curiosity. It would be nice to know what had caused him to tilt his focus more towards her, because if she knew what it was, then she could utilize it.

A loud grumble from her stomach suddenly reminded her that it was around dinner time, and she hadn't eaten yet. Shrugging off her thoughts, she turned away from the city noise and blackened sky in order to head back inside. Tiredly she traveled into the kitchen, scavenging the fridge for some sort of meal she could heat up easily enough in the microwave. The stove and oven were off limits, obviously. She wasn't too keen on playing with fire or heat, but the microwave should be her safest bet.

Renei pulled out some tupperware with leftovers in it from a few nights prior and was heading for the handy dandy microwave, when she thought she heard someone knocking on the front door. She placed the leftovers in the microwave and started the time before going to the door to see who it was.

It was a good thing she peeked through the peephole rather than opening up the door right away, because the people she saw standing out in the hall would definitely be considered intruders rather than welcomed guests. They knocked again.

"Nakajima, we know you're in there. Let us in."

"You are blindly confident if you think that I'm going to let you in without a good reason." Came her slow and steady reply.

"You really need a reason to let us in? We're not strangers you know."

"Yeah Nakajima, what kind of a person just leaves their classmates standing out on their doorstep?"

"Why don't you invite us in for some tea or something? Wait, do you even _have_ tea? What kind of stuff do they even drink in the countryside? Mud?"

Renei still didn't move to open the door, and if anything, she was even more against the thought of letting them in now, given their behavior. "What are you doing here at this time of night?"

"We're here for a little slumber party." Came the sarcastic reply. "Why do you _think_ we're here?"

Only one thought came to mind. It was all too obvious. "Igarashi put you up to this."

" _Now_ can we come inside?"

Renei scowled. "What? You think he has that kind of power over me, like he has with you? You may not come inside. I'm asking you to go home, it's too late for... whatever it is you want to bother me about."

There was a pause after this where she could hear feet shifting awkwardly and voices murmuring just outside the door. The microwave dinged then, and she was about to go get her food out when someone spoke up again.

"If you don't let us in, we'll just go get a key. That old man downstairs seems to think we're your friends. We can just tell him that you can't get to the door right now and that you told us to let ourselves in."

Renei twitched in irritation. She would have to give Mr. Danno a _full_ list of the people he should not allow to come up here. "Well I don't have much of a choice then, do I?" She sighed, shaking her head. "Does this have to do with the party? Because I meant what I said about not―"

"Just open the door, okay?!"

Reluctantly, and with a frown set on her face, Renei opened the door and and allowed a few members of the Elite Group to file inside.

Once the door was closed behind them and their shoes were off, she minded her manners and lead them into the sitting room to talk. Ichitaro and Tomu made themselves comfortable on the sectional sofa, while Kaon circled the room, inspecting it as if she were a detective looking for clues. For once, her beloved bear was not with her. Admittedly, it was kind of strange seeing her without it, like something was missing from the picture.

Renei chose to sit stiffly in one of the recliners to the right of the sofa, and she kept her eyes firmly trained on Kaon as the girl went around the room; touching the fine leather of the seats, taking in the view of the plasma screen television on the wall, twirling around the lamp in the corner, tapping her nails experimentally along the glass coffee table...

The blonde at last came to a halt beside the electric fireplace, swiping her finger along it to check for dust. "Nice place you got here." She stated, with a hint of pleasant surprise in her tone.

"Thank you." Renei fought the urge to roll her eyes. It hadn't come yet, but surely there would be an insult mixed in there somewhere. This was Kaon Umekoji, after all.

"Though let's be honest, you weren't the one to decorate it, were you?" Kaon added on with an air of sass, and she turned to give Renei a long, disapproving look up and down. "After all, you haven't been living here all that long. And I doubt you know how to decorate."

And there it was. "I highly doubt you came over here just to criticize me. What do you want?" Renei asked this as calmly as she could manage, but there still remained a slight edge to her words. Their visit had taken her off guard, and she didn't feel like conjuring up the right amount of patience with Kaon tonight. She was hungry, tired, lonely and homesick. Now was not the most ideal time to be dealing with a select few of her most temperamental acquaintances.

"The President would like you to reconsider attending the party this weekend." Tomu decided to get to the point, and beside him, Ichitaro nodded.

Renei didn't even try to hide the incredulity in her eyes. Honestly, she had no idea what could possibly be going on inside of Tora's head. He didn't actually think this would work, did he? Persistence wasn't always the best tool to use when attempting persuasion. "I might have reconsidered it, if he had come here to ask me himself. I think that, if he wants me to attend so badly, then he should be the one to talk with me about it. Instead though, he sends you three to do his dirty work." She cocked her head and looked over at Ichitaro. "Am I the only one who finds that ridiculous?"

The glasses-wearing Elite quickly tapped something on his tablet, and held it up for her to see. It read: _'Yes.'_

Renei squinted at the words before releasing her breath quietly. "Unbelievable..."

Kaon walked over to the coffee table and sat down on it without a care. She started kicked her legs and spoke through a sly smile. "It's not ridiculous, because he's busy, and we're very good at doing these types of tasks. Tomu and Ichitaro handle the persuasion, and if that fails, then I―" A little too proudly, she placed a hand on her chest. "handle the blackmail."

Renei's gaze turned indifferent. Quite honestly, she didn't believe that Kaon, of all people, had the ability to get dirt on her. There was no dirt to find anyway, because she'd led a perfectly amicable and civilized life so far. "Alright. Well, in order to speed things along, allow me to inform you that no amount of persuasion will work at this point. I've already made up my mind. You can tell the President that _maybe_ if he hadn't tried to embarrass and shame me in front of my peers during a meeting, and _maybe_ if he had asked me politely rather than literally throwing the invitation in my lap, then I would have ended up coming."

Nobody chose to respond to that right away. The twins met each other's eyes, and Ichitaro was typing away on his tablet. When he finished what he was writing, he turned his tablet in Renei's direction and she glanced at it, reading to herself:

 _'If that's the way you're going to act about this, then we'll have no choice but to take the next step.'_

Her eyes narrowed and the look in them sharpened. "What does that mean?"

Ichitaro looked at Kaon, who was still in the middle of sharing a look with her brother. Daisuke and Yumiko had once mentioned to her that twins could do this thing that was almost like reading each other's minds, so maybe that's what the Umekojis were doing right now ― speaking telepathically, somehow. Using their 'twin speak', or whatever it was called.

"I guess if you're going to leave us with no other options," Tomu then said, shrugging as if he didn't care either way what happened, although there was a quirk to his mouth that seemed inauspicious.

Kaon picked up where he left off. "Then we'll just have to resort to our most desperate measures."

"After all," Tomu went on with a sarcastic smirk. "we do want to stay on the President's good side."

Ichitaru nodded mutely in agreement.

Renei lightly placed a hand to her dizzy head, hoping to contain the headache she could feel coming on. "The thing is, I know you have nothing to use against me. You're bluffing, and I'm tired and hungry, so it would be appreciated if we could end this now."

"Oh, you poor thing." Kaon whined insincerely. "Listen up Nakajima, because you're about to get a rude awakening."

"Haven't I already gotten that?" Renei rubbed her temples and inwardly tried to wish her classmates away. However, if there was a god or something else to hear her wishes, it was obviously choosing to ignore her at the moment.

"Kaon, just get to the point so we can go home for dinner." Tomu urged his sibling, adjusting his beanie even further down his face so that it was practically impossible to see his eyes. "I'm pretty hungry myself. And tired, too."

With a pout and an irritated eye roll, the frisky little blonde opened up her pink and white handbag and got down to business. She pulled out a catalog envelope, and after undoing the clasp on it, she removed what appeared to be a handful of photoprints. Renei didn't inspect them right away when they were passed over to her.

"I know for a fact that there's no photographic evidence of me doing anything that could essentially be used for blackmailing purposes." She stated rather prosily. "So what are these supposed to be?"

"Take a look, why don't you?" Kaon looked rather smug as she sat there watching her. "The pictures aren't of you."

Renei gave the photos a look of appraisal, spreading them in her lap so that she could clearly see each one. Her face dropped when she instantly recognized a certain red-haired boy that she knew.

The pictures seemed to have been taken at a party, a rave from the looks of it. Teenagers were everywhere with drinks in hand and lights flashing all around them. And Shin, with his flaming hair more wild than ever and a few key items of clothing missing, was the main focus of each shot. He was seen in each picture either drinking, lighting something on fire, or dancing on tables... and in one of them he was even throwing up, all over the guy sitting next to him.

Renei's brain went haywire, and then short circuited long enough for her entire mind to go blank. Then it was going haywire again.

It donned on her suddenly, that kids actually acted like this. Just because she'd never been witness to it didn't mean it didn't happen. And then she was going over just how irresponsible these sorts of things were, and questioning her choice of friends. She'd certainly never seen this side of the sweet-toothed guitarist before. Yoshikawa was far more reckless than she could have imagined, joining in on a party like this, drinking out in public when he was under age... right before their band's first album got released. Was he completely brainless? Masao would have a heart attack, no, five of them, if he found out about this! What the heck was Shin thinking?!

Well, she had to correct herself there. Clearly, he _wasn't_ thinking, that's just it. What he was, was inebriated.

Once all of her shock and anger, irritation, and disappointment was collected into some guise of control, she was grasping at straws of hope. Maybe these pictures weren't recent. Maybe they were photo-shopped. Maybe... maybe she should just ask. Renei looked up and met each of her classmate's eyes slowly, one at a time, and hoped for an answer that satisfied her. "When were these taken? Who even took them?"

"I did, of course." Kaon placed her hands together and clapped them excitedly. "They're good, aren't they? I just so happened to have my best camera with me that night." She smirked.

"They were taken last year, at a party near our neighborhood. Kaon had these in her... collection." Tomu added in, and the explanation made Renei feel at least a little less upset about this, but now she had several more questions. Most of them were questions for Shin, but since he wasn't here, she would have to question him later and focus on the people in front of her for now.

Eyes swirling with puzzlement, she addressed Kaon with her first question. "You collect photos of Yoshikawa? I didn't realize that you were interested in him. Especially not to such an... extreme extent."

Kaon flushed a brilliant shade of red. "I don't collect pictures of _him_ specifically! I take pictures of scandals. When I feel like it I make money off of it, but mostly I just do it for fun. And it's definitely a plus that I can use them for leverage against people that I don't like, too."

"I had no idea you were something of a professional stalker, Umekoji." Renei tried her best to withhold the exasperation from her tone, but finding out that Kaon was not only a pesky source of drama, but also could be considered an actual _threat,_ was putting her at her limit. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about her trying to hook up with Shin anytime soon. Lord knows how completely _weird_ it would be if those two somehow got together. "However, I did get the hint that you don't like me."

"I've never liked you, Nakajima. I'd never like a commoner." Kaon's eyes glinted with a fierce sense of arrogance as she said this and clearly, she thought she was better than Renei.

"I'm not a 'commoner', both sides of my family come from wealth. Being born and raised outside of the city doesn't change that." Renei produced a smile, the best that she could manage under the current circumstances. "If you gave it a try, I think you'd actually come to like the countryside of Japan. You should try visiting the hot springs in my hometown sometime. They're like no other place on earth. My favorite one's at the base of the mountain, the service there is some of the best in the country."

Kaon's face screwed up in annoyance. "You think I care about any of that? Stop being an idiot! You're so frustrating! Don't you get that we're _blackmailing_ you right now? You shouldn't have the nerve to smile when _I'm_ the one who's in control here."

"And us, too. Not that I really care as much as you seem to." Tomu yawned, then leaned back into the sofa. Ichitaro was already half asleep beside him, having lost interest in what they were doing here when it came to Kaon starting up her childish tendencies once again. Both boys seemed to be too used to it by now to care about it or bother to hold her back anymore. Kaon just did what she did, you kind of just had to roll with it or face her wrath. Which was a lot worse than you'd think, because when she put her mind to it, she could classify as some kind of intimidating, even despite her childish size and personality.

Renei didn't seem to catch on to that though, or if she did, she simply didn't care and wasn't allowing herself to feel intimidated. After all, she was already on Kaon's bad side, and there was already no fixing that. "Alright then, I'll call your bluff. What do you plan on doing if I don't agree to your terms? Or I guess they're Igarashi's terms. You are just one of his puppets, after all."

As expected, Kaon didn't react very well to being called a puppet. Her face became furiously red, and her insides swarmed with different emotions. She could hardly help herself, standing up and stomping over to Renei, able to look down on her for once since Renei was sitting and she was now standing. The height advantage that wasn't normally there made her feel elated for a moment, but then the frustration was back in full force. "Don't ever take _me_ lightly! I'm not working with Igarashi on this because I have to, I'm doing it because I like the idea of messing with you." She crossed her arms and paused to make a sound of 'humph'. "And for your information, I'm not working _for_ him, we're working together!" Turning her nose up into the air, she haughtily ended her rant with a proclamation of, "I don't answer to anyone but _myself_."

Usually, when it came to Kaon, Renei could manage to be patient and calm. Usually, she didn't bother to engage in the drama that came with arguing back and forth with such an irritable, stubborn, and childish person. But as she had mentioned to Tora once before, she did happen to 'bite' on occasion. And this was one such occasion where she simply couldn't hold back. "Oh, is that what you like to tell yourself?" She curved her lips into a smirk that almost matched Tora's in its ability to mock. "You should know, that when it comes to Igarashi, your choices are never your own, and you only believe what you do because he planted that seed of belief inside your head. That's how he can control people with such ease. I haven't even been here that long, but being around him so much on the Council has brought me to a point where I've at least been able to deduce that much."

Kaon's hands formed small fists around her handbag. "Well I've been around him way more often than _you_ have, and I can tell you right now that you're wrong! That ― none of that is true! People just respect him because of his money and status, especially his family's status. The Igarashi Corporation is influential, and that's why we all listen to him. The way we act when it comes to him has nothing to do with him manipulating us."

Renei had already had a pretty good idea about why the students all liked him so much, but hearing Kaon say it out loud like that so bluntly made her heart cry out for him just a little bit. From the looks of it, all of his so-called 'friends' or 'allies' were just using him. But she supposed she shouldn't feel too bad for him, because Tora must know this already. Still... it was, sad. Who did he go to when he needed some moral support? Had he always just tackled life all by himself?

She had to get her mind back on track before she lost this argument to Kaon. Also, she found that she really didn't want to dwell on the fact that he might have been alone all his life. Such a thought made her nervous and uncomfortable.

"Are you..." She started up again after situating her thoughts. "...really so sure that you're making your own decisions? If all you're doing is listening to his orders ―"

"I'm not the type to doubt myself." The blonde spat back.

Renei cocked an eyebrow. "That's not what I've noticed. You always seem to be trying too hard because you want to prove yourself in some way, probably because you want to fight off all of the doubts that you have."

Kaon's mouth opened for a second, and then snapped shut. Then opened again, then snapped shut once more. She looked a tad lost, and thoroughly upset by the comment. Her brow furrowed, her lips pursed, and though she was frustrated and angry and felt vulnerable and small, which really made her even more angry... she had to stop and think, how did Nakajima have this uncanny ability to channel Igarashi like that? That smirk she used, and the way she was speaking. It was all very... Igarashi. Maybe the brunette really _was_ spending too much time around him lately. In any case, it was strange and... almost kind of creepy how she managed to impersonate him. Kaon wondered if it was being done on purpose, just to mess with her.

"Whatever. You're just a liar." She stepped back, distancing herself from Renei, and turned towards her brother and Ichitaro. "Hey, wake up already! We're leaving now, and thanks for all the help by the way, you lazy bums! Do I always have to do everything myself?"

Tomu laughed at that. "I thought you liked to take the spotlight, you're so chatty, y'know? And you make the biggest deal out of these things, treating it like a secret mission or something."

Ichitaro couldn't contain his own fits of laughter, and as the boys sat there chuckling about it, Kaon blushed in angry embarrassment and gave them both a lovely earful of, "QUIT LAUGHING AT ME, YOU TWO STUPID IDIOTS!"

Renei stood up immediately, feeling numb from all the screeching and arguing. "I'll show you to the door." She announced, walking ahead of them in that direction.

Kaon instantly spun around to face her again, eyes beady and bright. She followed behind Renei like a starved mosquito closing in on a drop of blood. "If you think we're done with this, we're not yet." She pointed to the photographs that Renei had in each hand. "Basically, all you need to know is that those will be released to the public unless you decide to agree to the President's terms for the party. And not only will it ruin your friend's image, it will ruin his whole band's image, and so soon before they're about to release their first album, too. Their moment in the spotlight will be over before it even begins. And your brother will take a big hit from it as well, being their manager and all." Her smile was vicious and content now, since the terms were finally laid out on the table and things appeared bleak for Renei. Finally.

"Umekoji." Unexpectedly, Renei's voice dropped and her eyes lit up with... what was that? Kaon wasn't sure, but maybe it was... fire? But the look itself was cold, like icy waters. No, there was definitely some fire there too ― the kind that's so cold, it actually burns. She shivered when those eyes met her own, and gripped her handbag tightly, feeling suddenly very uneasy.

But she still managed to stick her chin out and meet that cool, burning, forceful gaze with a falsely confident one of her own. "What?"

"Are you really that sick of a person? You know, the especially twisted kind, who actually enjoys ruining other people's lives..." Renei held the photographs out for her to take, trying to give her a choice that she could make without Igarashi's say in it. "Is this really who _you_ are?"

Kaon looked surprised, her eyes widening as she was affected by the intensity behind Renei's words, and the flickering movement in her gaze. She started to think it over, and for a split second, she appeared to hesitate. To question what she was doing. To do what she does best, and doubt herself. She may put on a confident act, but still, it was just an act, and in that moment, it was melting slightly.

And then her brother nudged her from behind, pulling her out of her own head. "Come on Kaon, don't let her get to you. Let's go home, this is her problem now, not ours."

Kaon looked up at her twin, and then over to Ichitaro, who nodded in agreement and quickly typed _'He's right.'_ on his tablet and showed it to her.

That was just enough to snap her back to her usual self and clear away her cloud of doubts. She looked at Renei and shot back a snarky reply, "The real question is, what kind of person are _you_ , Nakajima? Are you selfish enough to let the people you care about take a bad fall just to save your pride, or are you the selfless type that likes to sacrifice themselves for others?" She leaned in close, elevated to her tip toes in order to get up in Renei's face, and smirked. "One thing I've learned through all of my blackmailing is that it can be a very eye-opening experience. You can tell a lot more about a person's character when you put them in a tight spot. And desperate people always tend to do desperate things. So what kind of desperate person are you? The kind who makes noble sacrifices, or the kind who makes others suffer for them?"

The room was quiet. The entire apartment, wrapped in a sudden silence. In fact, in that moment, it felt like the whole world had gone deaf.

Renei pressed the photographs towards Kaon once more, and she put on a mask to hide the fact that she was feeling intimidated by a person half her size. "I have been many things before, Umekoji, but never have I been desperate." That, more or less, was the truth. She had felt a large range of ugly emotions before and wanted to get rid of them, but she had never reached the point of desperation. She had always founds ways to fix the problem before it got to that.

The blonde moved the photographs back towards Renei, refusing to take them back. "I'll let you hold onto these in order to help you make up your mind." She said. "We have plenty more copies where that came from, anyway."

A muscle in Renei's jaw jumped as she locked it into place and spoke through gritted teeth that had been biting deep into the inside of her cheek during the earlier silence. "Are we done here?"

Kaon and the boys moved past Renei towards the front door, and Renei slowly followed after them. "Yes," Came the delayed and flippant response. "We're done here."

When they reached the door and slipped into their shoes, Tomu turned to Renei with something of a grin. "Thank you for having us, Nakajima."

Ichitaro pushed up his glasses and tucked his tablet under his arm, giving Renei nothing more than a curt nod and a simple smile.

Feeling her frustration starting to boil over and exhaustion overcome her at the same time, the Secretary opened the door for them and started to usher them out. "I'd appreciate it if this didn't happen again." It was a good thing her brother wasn't home for this, because she did not want to involve him in troubles like this, and she really didn't want him tracing it back to her fiancé. "For future reference, you probably shouldn't go to someone's home unannounced and drop off an envelope full of blackmail. It leaves a bad impression."

Kaon giggled devilishly as she followed her friends out the door. "To be completely honest, I've done worse things to better people."

Renei gladly shut the door in her insolent face.

She then ripped up the photographs in her hands, and went to collect her dinner from the microwave.

* * *

A/N: Let's take a moment to talk about the quote up at the top and the name of the chapter.

Blasphemy, if you didn't already know the definition, is: "The act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God; the act of claiming the attributes of deity; irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable."

Referring to the first definition, we could say that Renei is being blasphemous by going against Tora's word. Why? Because apparently his word is Law, he's like some sort of God ruling over the weak, in fact he probably thinks he _is_ a God, I mean he _does_ have a pretty big sense of self-superiority. This leads us right into the second definition of the word, and referencing that, we could say that Tora is actually the one who is blasphemous since he is a God in his own mind, like he's claiming the attributes of a God, because he thinks he's all powerful and he tries to control everyone's lives and such. Now, referencing the third defintion, we could say that Kaon, Tomu, and Ichitaro are the ones who are blasphemous, because privacy is inviolable, as is trust, and they are showing irreverence towards both of those things by breaking Renei's trust and also destroying Shin's privacy by threatening to release those photos of him to the public as a means of blackmail.

That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading, feel free to drop in more reviews! Cuz reviews are like candy for the soul 0_0

CK:*


	13. Ask No Questions and You'll Get No Lies

A/N: I've been struggling with writing Tora's character lately for some reason. There's been some sort of disconnect between he and I, and if you were wondering, this is why he has been in less scenes.

He's such a difficult character to try to get a read on... I mean, kudos to Hiro Fujiwara for doing such a fantastic job developing Tora's character! But... that just makes it especially stressful for me to try to plop him into my own story and make it _work_. I'm constantly feeling the need to re-familiarize myself with his character. I desperately do not want to portray him the wrong way (as I did for the majority of my first KWMS fanfic), thereby dishonoring the original author who created him from scratch. She did such a good job creating _all_ of her characters, so when using Tora or Maki, and eventually Misaki and Co. I want to do it _right_ dammit! *sigh*

On a more positive note, I'm really excited about where this story is headed. It looks... really promising! XD I can see it all coming together now, piece by piece, which gets me super pumped! All we need to remember is to have patience! ^_^; I say that, and yet, even as the author, I'm the most impatient of all...

 **Dearest reviewers, I don't have the time on my hands at the moment to respond to all of you personally right now. I will get to that in the next chapter, I promise. For now, please accept my universal gift basket as a thank you for your wonderful reviews~ *mentally sending you muffins, hugs, and roses* (my apologies in advance if you are allergic to baked goods, affection, or flowers)**

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Ask No Questions and You'll Get No Lies

...

 _*Prrrp prrrp*_

Renei had just finished zipping up her dress and pulling on the jacket of her uniform when she heard her phone chime. Bringing her attention to the screen, she saw that it was lit up with the sign of an incoming text. She flipped it open to see who it was from.

\- From: Masao -

 _|Good morning._

 _I arrived safely at the house last night, and as I'm sending you this text the cook is whipping up some breakfast. It smells delicious enough that it's drawn Yumiko out of her room. She hasn't said much but I can tell that she's disappointed that you couldn't come back with me._

 _I don't want to upset you, but I won't sugarcoat the truth. Father has definitely seen better days._

 _It's not only his mental health that we should be worried about, although that is the cause behind the way his physical health has deteriorated. He's become thin enough that his clothes look too large on him now, apparently he hasn't been eating properly. Also, he's even paler than usual, so he obviously hasn't been going outside at all, perhaps he hasn't even been leaving his room. But don't worry, this is why I'm here._

 _After a big breakfast, I'm going to try to take him for a walk through the valley. It's a pretty day today, there are lots of birds flying about in the garden, where the flowers are in full bloom. The mountains look alive as well,_ _I had forgotten how green they could get at this time of year. It really is beautiful this season. I think father will like it, he used to love sitting in the garden all of the time. Maybe I'll bring a few books with us and read to him._

 _I haven't seen Daisuke yet, Yumiko tells me he's hiding from me._ _I can only assume he's avoiding me because he knows that I'm going to give him a tongue-lashing for not keeping a sharper eye on father's health. As soon as he comes out from wherever he's hiding, I'm going to strangle him within an inch of his life. Look forward to seeing his obituary in the papers soon._

 _The only good news that I have is that the house is clean, the garden maintained, and the kitchen well-stocked. I've decided to give the entire household staff a raise in their salary._

 _How was your first night alone in the apartment? Are you well? Do you need anything? Please let me know if you do.|_

Renei's face fell as she read the message and felt a wave of concern for her father. Masao really was needed out there after all, it seemed. She had been hoping that it was just a false alarm, or not that big of a deal... but it sounded like the opposite.

Noticing the time on her phone, a sense of urgency overcame her. Depressing thoughts or not, she still had school to attend. For now, she would just have to set her phone aside so that she could finish getting ready for school; it also gave her time to think to herself for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, Renei had developed such a thorough routine that she was ready to go in no time, fully dressed and standing beside the front door with her bag. With a heavy sigh, she tried to arrange her thoughts accordingly in order to come up with a response for her brother.

\- Send to: Masao -

 _|I hope father will get better soon. I also hope that Yumiko will get a tongue-lashing from you as well, since Daisuke is not the only one who is at the house and in charge of looking after father's health. We all know how she likes her private space and alone time, but I think she should learn to take some responsibility and be more involved with the family. I know that you said she doesn't know how to be a caretaker, but she can learn. If she has the ability to help out, then she should, just as the same goes for Daisuke._

 _Regarding your anger towards him, if the two of you are going to start one of your fights, then please remember to take it outside. Last time you broke father's favorite vase. And a window. Let's not have a repeat of that. Or, here's a suggestion: since you are both grown men, perhaps you could work things out in a more sensible way than physical violence and yelling? Just a thought._

 _As for how I'm doing |_

Renei's thumbs hesitated before pressing the next few buttons.

Should she be honest, she wondered, or should she lie for the sake of not making things more complicated than they already were? Masao had been honest with her, but their situations were different. Of course he wouldn't lie to her about family matters, and she wouldn't either. But when it came to far more personal troubles, well, it's not like he told her every time he had a bad day and the reasons behind why.

The whole thing about Kaon blackmailing her was one of her own problems, not Masao's, and that's what it all came down to. He already had enough on his plate anyway, having to take a leave of absence from work (and right before he and his team were about to release a debut album, no less) in order to take control of things back at home. He was the eldest son, so naturally he would be the one to rely on in situations such as theirs. Right now, the rest of the family needed him more than Renei did. She knew that even if she could use a little guidance, and even if he was asking if she needed anything, it would be selfish of her to bother him right now with her own problems.

What's more, wasn't she often telling him to back off, letting him know that she didn't always need his help, that he didn't have to overindulge her? It would be hypocritical to ask for his help now, after going so far as to regularly remind him that she was as mature and independent as he, even despite their age gap, and that she could handle herself just fine on her own.

 _|As for how I'm doing, I'm happy to inform you that I haven't managed to burn down the apartment between the time you departed yesterday and now. You can rest easy knowing that in your absence, I'll stick to eating simple, microwavable meals.|_

Knowing that the humor would immediately put her brother at ease, Renei pressed send and placed her phone inside of her bag, taking care to lock the door of the apartment behind her after stepping out. Moments later, she had just stepped onto the elevator when she heard her phone chime once more.

\- From: Masao -

 _|I'll have a talk with Yumiko as well then. Don't worry, I'm sure that between the twins and myself, we'll be able to improve father's health. Perhaps I'll hire another attendant to look after him personally once I leave again, although his pride has never really allowed for a stranger to see how weak he's become... even with me, he's strictly forbidden me to meet his eyes. I understand his shame, but it's more important that we get him some proper assistance. Before the end of my visit, I swear I will have persuaded him to keep a nurse in the home like we used to do a while back._

 _And when I do find that idiot brother of ours, I'll take great care to only cause harm to him, not the house. Also, I thought we had already gone over the fact that I wasn't to blame for the broken window? That was entirely his doing, not mine. Although the vase... that, that is a mystery._

 _I'm glad that you seem to be doing well. Just so you know, it is possible to set a microwave on fire, so remember to not cook anything inside of it that's covered in tinfoil. Also, use microwave safe dishes when you're heating something up._

 _If there's a time when you do need something, Benjiro can be of assistance. He said he would watch over you in my absence, so just ask him if you need anything. I'd trust that old man with my life if I had to, so you should do the same._

 _Have a productive day at school, I'll call you later tonight.|_

Renei turned off her phone and set it back into the smallest pocket of her bag. She felt amused for a brief moment at the fact that he had completely ignored her comment about he and Daisuke being grown men, and how they shouldn't be fighting. Masao may be practical at all other times, but when it came to Daisuke, something in him changed, and he became a tad more... childish. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe not.

Now, regarding that bit about Mr. Danno in the last part of the message...

"Trust him with my life, huh? Even if I did open up a little and share my frustrations with him yesterday, I wouldn't take it _that_ far." She rolled her eyes at the very notion.

Nonetheless, just as she had requested of the old man, he obviously hadn't mentioned anything about her troubles to Masao. So that proved he could stay true to his word.

And, he was a good listener.

And he was much older than her, so he had much more life experience, and was probably excellent at giving advice.

The elevator dinged and she stepped out. Still mulling things over, she hadn't realized where her legs had carried her until she heard a voice calling out to her from close-by.

"Good morning! Lovely day today, isn't it?"

Renei glanced down at the old man sitting peacefully behind the front desk, which she found herself now standing in front of. His grin was wide and toothy, and his kind green eyes instantly reminded her of those lively mountains Masao had mentioned in his first message. Her own eyes narrowed as she took the time to consider him carefully ― was that the face of someone she could trust? Was it safe to seek help from this person?

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for her to make up her mind.

"Benjiro-san." When she suddenly said his name like that, the old man seemed to realize that this was not going to be one of their usual light-hearted conversations.

Renei watched in silent wonderment as the teasing glint left his eyes, and the smile on his face disappeared; which resorted in his face looking much more solemn than it normally did. His youthful persona gave way to his wizened features, and for once, he looked as old as he was. He leaned back a bit in his chair and gazed up at her calmly, lips pursed, head nodding for her to begin. It was an open stance, an accepting type of body language.

With a whisper of the silk of her uniform on the sturdy wooden desk, Renei rested her elbows there and released a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Remember how I said that I could handle things on my own? Well, I may require some guidance after all." She cringed, just a bit, as she said this. Asking for help wasn't something she made a habit of (in fact she would usually push help away), and as a result her pride always took a hit from it, since she wasn't used to it. "It's become a bit more complicated than it was before."

Benjiro reached out and plucked a few food wrappers away from where her arms rested, tossing them into a wastebasket before relaxing backwards again and folding his hands in his lap. "Tell me what's on your mind, miss." He quirked an eyebrow. "Is it about that letter I passed on to you yesterday, after school? You didn't seem all too happy when I gave it to you, but I didn't want to pry any further than I already had."

Renei blinked. "Letter?" She slowly sounded out the word, taking a trip through her memory as she did.

Her own thoughtlessness surprised her ― now that she looked back on it, she hadn't payed any mind to the letter after he had handed it to her. In fact, all she did was slip it into her bag and forget about it for the rest of the night. "This... is a little embarrassing, but I completely forgot about it until you just mentioned it."

The old man gestured to her bag. "Do you have it with you now?" When she nodded, he continued. "Well it wouldn't be a bad idea to read it and see if it makes things better or worse."

That did make sense, and she really didn't see what was left to lose at this point.

Once she had found it and pulled it out, she discarded the envelope it was in and opened up the folded, single sheet of paper. It didn't have much on it, only less than half of the page was written in what she assumed was Maki's hand.

 _Nakajima –_

 _I know that you seem to have made up your mind already about this matter, but regarding the party this weekend, it is my hope that you will reconsider your decision._

 _If you continue to refuse the invitation, I'm sure that Kaon will resort to her usual methods, and this will only cause more trouble than it's worth._

 _It isn't much to ask, and I know that you are only refusing because you are trying to make a point to the President._

 _However, the President is only trying to follow through with what his parents have requested of him._

 _I do not think that you fully understand all that is expected of him, or that you are fully aware of the types of disturbances that you are capable of causing._

 _It would look bad if he couldn't get his own fiancée to attend a party held in honor of his mother._

 _You would not only be leaving the impression that you don't care enough to become personally invested with their family,_

 _but you would also be the cause for the_ _disappointment his parents would feel toward their only son._

 _His lack of ability to persuade you to make an appearance at a simple social event will not reflect positively toward his parents, and they do not take these issues lightly._

 _Perhaps I was wrong to think this, but I was under the impression that you wanted to become a part of his family, not break it apart instead._

 _In closing, I wanted to make it clear that it is in everyone's best interest that you attend, and ask that you_ _p_ _lease not cause unnecessary trouble for the Igarashis._

 _– Vice President Maki_

By the time that Renei had finished reading the letter, the frown lines were showing on her forehead as her lips turned down slightly, and a shadowy look had passed over her face. This was... not what she had been expecting to read. She wasn't quite sure what she _had_ been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. An unforgiving, unabating feeling of guilt was suddenly tugging at her from the inside, and, unfortunately, she knew there was only one way to make it stop.

Just when a curious and concerned Benjiro was about to say something that would get her attention, she folded the paper back up and looked over at him. When she met his gaze, she tried for a smile. "Never mind Danno-san, your assistance isn't needed after all. Reading this has helped me figure out what decision I need to make."

Despite her every appearance of seeming okay now, the old man didn't seem convinced. Just what was in that letter, he wondered? Her problems could not vanish into thin air just from reading a few simple lines, could they? With this on his mind, he pressed her for more information. "You know, you can still talk to me about it if you want. It might make you feel even better, and maybe my input would be able to help you further with these troubles and whatever decision you might need to make because of them."

Her smile stuck though, and she didn't offer him much except reassurances. "I'm alright now, really, but thank you for the offers of help anyway."

He laughed a little, shaking his head. "Well, I would say you're welcome, but I hardly did a thing." His other eyebrow raised to join the first, and he fixated her with a grandfatherly type of look that warmed her heart. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Renei only continued to smile, now not wanting to get him involved with this either. She should not take advantage of an old man's kindness. Especially this old man, seeing as he must be the kindest of all. So, despite feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place, and despite the guilt pestering her heart, and although she wanted to say 'no', she answered with a 'yes'.

At this point, after reading that letter, what else could she do but give in and try to be okay with it?

In the end, there were some things that were more important than pride. One of them being family.

And, she supposed, another one would be friendship.

xx

Shin stood at the school's entrance, hands in the pockets of his slacks, back resting against a marble pillar. He was waiting there as patiently as he could, barely managing to pull himself away from his fan club of shrieking first years just minutes prior to this moment. Normally he would've been with them all morning, seeing as he loved their attention so much. In between mouthfuls of cakes and chocolaty sweets, he had been in the middle of telling them about Rose Picture's debut album coming out soon, and was just about to let them listen to a personal sneak peak of one of the songs that was going to be on it (which Masao had strictly refused to send him a copy of, since he knew that the guitarist would leak it to the public, so Shin had to go behind the older man's back and download the recording off of Haru's phone while he was distracted playing video games), when Renei had called him out of nowhere.

She didn't say much, she just asked him to meet her in front of the school for a 'talk'. There was something in her tone that told him that this was a serious matter, which is probably why they needed to speak in person about it rather than over the phone.

Given the gravity that seemed to be accompanied with this 'talk', Shin would have liked to have opted out of participating in it, and it probably would have been safer for him to stick around with his fan girls instead. But seeing as this was _Renei_ who needed to speak with him... well, he tended to be biased against other women, even his loyal fans, when it came to her.

Who could blame him though? He mused to himself with a grin on his face. She was really something else. Unlike any other girl he'd ever met.

His infatuation had started early on, and it only grew from there on out. It was hard not to notice how striking she was when he first met her, how much she stood out in a room full of people. And the more he got to know her, the more he liked what he found.

Renei was smarter than most people and she knew it ― you could see it in the way she held herself, and her intelligence just seemed to shine through her eyes. They were sharp and silent, also a beautiful color, and they left him in a state of awe. He had a hard time looking away and she usually ended up snapping at him to stop staring so much.

Another thing he liked about her, and something she didn't even notice about herself, was that she could even be charming in the moments where she _wasn't_ _trying_ to be charming. Whenever he managed to catch her with her guard down, whenever her stoic mask slipped, he always found her all the more intriguing. Her smirk, for example, was masterful, showing confidence and cunning. It showed a side of her that was completely different from her usual outer appearance. It brought a certain thoughtfulness to her gaze, and hinted at a quiet playfulness that slept within her. Shin always felt like she must be enjoying some sort of private joke to herself whenever she had that look on her face. It unnerved him, because he found himself wishing to join in on the joke, yet he knew that she wouldn't let him in on it. She liked to keep her privacy after all.

She could be such a mystery due to that. He never knew what to expect from her, he didn't even know much about who the real Renei was. She kept a lot of herself hidden, and he wished that she wouldn't, because he didn't like being kept in the dark about things.

That's why he felt so nervous right now. Here he was, waiting for her in front of the school like she had asked him to, and he had no idea what was going to happen. Was she going to confide in him and tell him about some deep dark secret? Or maybe she was upset with him for some reason? What if she wanted to ask him out? It _had_ been feeling like they were becoming closer as friends lately (due to mostly his own efforts). But even so, he probably shouldn't get his hopes up...

"OW!"

The flame-haired youth was so caught up in his thoughts that it came as a great shock to him when something smacked him in the side of the head ― _hard_. It felt like someone had just punched him in the skull with a fist. A fist carved from the solid marble he was leaning against, that is. (Okay that may be an exaggeration but it still really hurt).

Wincing, Shin reached to touch the bump forming above his ear, and spun to the side when he spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye. His anger all but slipped away when he saw _her_ standing there, though.

None other than Renei stood by his side, standing tall and looking poised, acting quiet as can be and still as a statue, innocently holding her heavy school bag in both hands. Her expression was blank, and it didn't look as if she had moved at all, but he shot her a suspicious look anyway, seeing as there was no one else around besides her to induce his injury.

"Renei, what the hell was that for?" He asked her, still rubbing the sore spot above his ear. Jeez, that bump was only going to grow in size until he practically had a second head! (Again, he might be exaggerating a little, but still...)

"Renei- _san_." He could have _sworn_ he saw a spark of fiery emotion in her gaze when she automatically corrected him, but before he could address it, it vanished. She then blinked slowly at him, furrowing her brow in confusion. "And what was _what_ for?"

"Didn't you just hit me?" He pointed a finger at her bag, which he suspected held all sorts of books, paperwork, and maybe even a laptop in it. "With _that?_ "

Her voice was cool as she argued lightly, "Yoshikawa, you're imagining things. What reason would I have for hitting you? Besides, I wouldn't want to damage the contents in my bag."

His gaze was still suspicious, and when she moved forward, he felt the urge to step back. There was something... not right, in the air around her. He sensed tension. Way too much tension. "Are you mad at me about something?"

"Not really." She took another step closer, and then in the blink of an eye, her blank expression switched to a hard look with a gaze of pure steel, which sent his pulse racing. He knew it, she really was out to get him, for whatever reason. "But I am frustrated and I also didn't get enough sleep last night, so I suggest that you keep quiet and let me do the talking here."

Shin wasn't entirely sure what he had done to deserve her wrath, but he promptly shut his mouth anyway.

"Good. Thank you." A sigh escaped her lips, and her white-knuckled grip on her bag handle slackened, much to his appreciation. "Last night, I was approached by the Umekoji twins as well as Tomikouji-san, on Igarashi's behalf. The whole story isn't important for you to know, but there is one detail that I wanted to speak with you about." She paused, giving Shin the chance to brace himself before she continued. "I was shown a few photographs, taken at a party from about a year ago. And believe me when I say that they are not something you would want anyone, especially Kaon-san and her friends, to have their hands on."

"Not something that I, specifically, would want them to have their hands on?" He asked in order to clarify, and when she nodded, he added on in a hurry, "Why me?"

Renei spoke with the same blunt force of the bag that had hit him in the head. "Because the photos were taken of you, Yoshikawa. In each one you were either drinking, smoking, choking, throwing up, dancing half-naked, or doing something else incredibly stupid..." Her voice gradually became more and more miffed with each word. "You know, I, for one, had no idea that you were capable of balancing three cans of beer at once on the top of your head. What a talent that is. Perhaps if you get lucky, instead of having a successful music career, you could get picked up by the circus and perform cheap balancing acts for the rest of your life."

Her eyes were pinning him in place, so he couldn't run. But that being said, he didn't want to run.

Shin wanted to hide. To phase into the pillar behind him, or shrink inside his clothes like a turtle, or rapidly erode away. Placed in a state of deep shock by the time Renei had finished speaking, it took him a moment before he could think beyond the thoughts of a coward.

He wanted to apologize. In all truth, he didn't even remember that night, he must have blacked out or something, since apparently he was _that_ drunk. But he could believe that it happened even if he couldn't remember it, because he used to have lots of bad habits in the past. His parents never knew about any of it, but his friends did. And they were the ones who helped him quit all of that, and instead, make music his new addiction, his new source of adrenaline rushes and freedom. That's when the band had formed, it was because of him and his mistakes that 'Rose Picture' was born. And that's why he had never regretted his bad habits of the past, because something really amazing came out of it in the end.

But right now, in this moment, he did regret it. All of it. He regretted the drinking, the smoking, the parties. He regretted hanging out with all of those people who were terrible influences, and he regretted lying to his parents and trying to hide it all from his actual friends. With Renei looking at him with so much disappointment and harsh judgment in her gaze, he had never felt so embarrassed and ashamed. Not even when his friends had first found out about his 'habits' way back then. He hadn't even been bothered when they found out. But that was because he knew that they would always see the best in him, always accept him.

Renei was the type of person who, once she was introduced to the skeletons in your closet, she never saw you the same way again. Masao had once mentioned something about her becoming completely disconnected from their mother after the divorce, and how she hadn't been able to forgive her or have a healthy relationship with her since then. Her own mother, and Renei still remained stubbornly ruthless.

Based off of that, she probably hated him now, and would go on seeing him as a stupid, wild, partying drunkard for the rest of all eternity. Maybe he was exaggerating again, but with the way she was eyeing him right now, it felt pretty damn likely. She would never hang out with him again. This was where their friendship ended, and god dammit, it was only just barely starting to get good!

"What is with that sullen look on your face? Aren't you going to respond? Say _something_ at least."

Shin hung his head. He didn't want to meet those eyes that judged him. He really wished he _could_ phase into the pillar behind him, or be a turtle, or rapidly erode. Anything to escape those eyes that stung him so deeply. "I used to do some stupid stuff, okay? I don't know what to say other than sorry. I can't go back and change anything now. Sorry. I'm... really sorry."

"I can tell that you really do mean that." Her voice was still firm, but smoother, more forgiving for a second. But then it changed to sounding wooden with her next words. "But your apologies aren't going to fix the fact that those photos exist, and that Kaon-san is using them to blackmail me."

Upon hearing that last part, Shin's whole body went stiff. He was aware of what Kaon was capable of; the brat was notorious for causing drama by reporting scandals, her favorite hobby seemed to be blowing things way out of proportion and blackmailing others in order to get her way. But he had never thought about the possibility that she might have some dirt on _him_.

The shame suddenly became visible as it coated his face in a sudden flush, but he somehow managed to look up and meet Renei's eyes. "She didn't. Please tell me that she didn't."

"Oh," Renei glared at him, her gaze glossed over with an iciness that chilled his bones. It was strange, how her voice could be toneless while her eyes spoke with torrents of emotion. "she most certainly did."

Shin felt overwhelmed with several emotions, none of them pleasant, and anger was the one that decided to rise above the rest and rear its head. "That little― I'm gonna―!"

"You don't need to do anything, I can handle this matter on my own. I'll be doing some damage control after I finish this talk with you, so it's fine. Don't overexert yourself when you're already feeling down, Yoshikawa."

His gaze fell back to the ground again and his mouth snapped shut. Damn. He felt like a child being scolded by their mother. Except his mother was totally laid back, so he didn't actually know what that felt like... but he imagined that it felt something like this. It was the same sort of feeling he got whenever Masao was scolding him about doing this or that wrong while they were practicing in the recording studio, or before a big meeting.

Like brother, like sister, he guessed.

Renei was quick to carry on. "Even though I'll take care of it, I still want you to understand something. Due to the existence of these photos, not only have you put me in a difficult situation, you have also put yourself, your band, and your manager ― my brother ― in jeopardy as well. I can't even put into words how stupid your actions were. You're going to be an idol, and you have to set an example, a _good_ example, because other kids are going to look up to you."

Shin felt the urge to defend himself. She wasn't exactly being fair here. "I didn't know I was on my way to fame at the time, we hadn't even created the band yet when those pictures were taken. Your brother didn't start working with us until recently so it doesn't matter that―"

"But your father was in a band of his own back in the day, wasn't he?" He looked up at her in surprise. "Masao told me he was also the lead guitarist, in a band with Haruto's father. And from what I've heard, it took them a lot to get as famous as they did. Did you really not think you would be soiling their reputation, dishonoring all of their hard work, by attending those kinds of parties, by participating in those kinds of activities?"

"Well... er, no―"

"Then where was your head? Please tell me you've found it by now, because if not, if this sort of thing happens again, if you go and―"

"Renei-san," It was unexpectedly then that Shin moved. He reached out, steadying himself on his wobbly, no-good legs, and rested his hands on her shoulders. Then he looked into her eyes, which were wide and confounded, and spoke in his most serious tone of voice. "I am _not_ the same person that I was back then. I've changed. I'm better." And he was proud of it, too. He had changed for the better. And it took a lot to get where he is today, and his life is really great right now, so of course he wouldn't go back to the way things were before.

When she seemed to relax beneath his touch after he said that, he offered her a smile as relief flooded through him. "Don't worry so much."

She brushed away his hands almost immediately then and stepped back with a heavy sigh. "Lately, worrying is all I can do." She gave him a sidelong glance, suddenly too uncomfortable to face him directly. "I don't want to see anyone else that I know suffer."

"Who do you know that's suffering?" He barely got to finish his question before she was shaking her head at him.

"No one. It's nothing." When she met his eyes again, he noticed something new in them. Sadness. The anger was gone and replaced by sadness, the kind that breaks your heart. The kind that changes you as a person. And Shin was just about to inquire about whoever it was that she was feeling such sorrow for, when she spoke up again, in a voice that was now a pleading whisper. "Please believe this lie for now. I don't wish to talk about it with anyone. It's a highly personal matter."

She was speaking in fragments; broken, sloppily pieced together words that she could barely get through her gritted teeth. And it concerned him a great deal because she never spoke like that. He was sure that she could see the conflicted emotions passing over his face then, and he was also sure that she knew that he wanted to try to help her. But for whatever reason, her eyes suddenly flashed in a warning ― she didn't want him to help. She didn't want anyone to help. She just wanted... well, he didn't know what she wanted.

Shin didn't know what to do when she was standing there looking sad and feeling vulnerable, and yet didn't want to open up to him and talk about it. So he did the only thing that wouldn't require words. He took a step toward her and carefully wrapped her up in his arms.

It was unclear how long they stood like that, Renei frozen awkwardly in his embrace, and Shin pressing her as close to him as she could get, smothering her face in his school jacket as he carefully rested a hand on her head. He didn't say anything, which she appreciated, so she decided to hug him back, which he appreciated in turn.

Renei couldn't really breathe with the way he was tucking her head against him, and naturally she was, in fact, somewhat taller than him, so she decided to readjust their position and raised her head in order to rest her chin on his shoulder. She peered out into the bright daylight behind him, scanning the surrounding area to try to see if anyone could be looking at the two of them. It felt like someone was watching them, and she really didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea if they saw her caught in an embrace with the wild-haired guitarist.

When she was certain that no one else was around to witness this, she allowed herself to relax a little more against him. The initial feeling of discomfort, she thought to herself, was also accompanied by a certain warmth that she hadn't been expecting. She also hadn't expected that his arms would feel so strong when they circled her, tightening around her slighter frame to the point where she had to wonder if he might crush her. If he applied any more force than he already was, he probably _would_ crush her.

Renei allowed herself to tilt her head down a little and pressed her nose to his shoulder. He smelled strongly of sugar, and faintly of soap. It wasn't a bad scent, and she couldn't help but smile a little as she continued to breathe it in.

Abruptly, after several inhales and exhales, she came to her senses and felt heat creep up her neck and bloom in her cheeks. Was she... _sniffing_ Yoshikawa? Forget his head, where was _hers?_ Why was she allowing such intimate physical contact to go on for so long, anyway? And wasn't she supposed to be mad at him still? Well, after a little more consideration, she supposed that it was kind of wrong to punish him now for the mistakes he had made in the past. He claimed he had changed, was a different person now compared to then. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and try to let it go. Speaking of letting things go, she should definitely release the hold that she currently had on him.

Dropping her arms from where they had been resting around his back, Renei pulled away from the embrace with an awkward step backwards, and cleared her throat. Shin allowed his touch to linger a moment before he let go, albeit rather reluctantly compared to her.

"I want you to learn to trust me more." He took her off guard with this statement, and smiled that crooked smile of his. "I used to have lots of bad habits, but I won't make a habit of repeating my mistakes."

Renei had a quick rebuttal on her lips, but it stayed there, unspoken. She couldn't bare to refute such earnest words, especially when he wore that endearing grin on his face. In the end, she only had one thing to say to him. She had pictured this talk going several different ways, and in her mind, none of the scenarios were as pleasant as this. He deserved something for the way he had taken all of this so well, so she decided to express her gratitude with two simple words.

"Thank you."

Obviously pleased by this, Shin's smile grew and he tried to pull her into another hug ― which she was quick to side-step. He pouted. " _I_ should be the one thanking _you_ , I think."

She gave him a cool reception, cocking an eyebrow. "What do you have to thank me for?"

"For trying to better me, and watching out for me. Even when you speak such harsh words," He winked at her. "I know you're only doing so because you care."

Renei could not resist an eye roll in order to cover up her embarrassment. "Take that goofy look off of your face, Yoshikawa. Just so you know, if it were only you who was going to be affected by the photographs, I would have let Kaon and the others do as they pleased. However, since innocent people were also involved, such as my brother and ―"

"Sure, sure." He interrupted her with a wave of his hand, the silly grin still plastered across his face. "Say what you will, say what you want to in order to make yourself feel at ease. I know the truth already though. Underneath all of those―" He gestured to her entire person. "― _layers_ that you pile on, there's a heart of gold at the center."

The way obsidian eyes were sparkling knowingly as they stared her down made Renei suddenly realize... Yoshikawa was far more conscious of other people than she had first assumed.

He came across as full of himself, craving attention from others but not quite taking the time to pay attention to them, always showing off whenever he had the chance to. But, in all seriousness, in all truth, and when it really counted ― he was _there_ , and he _saw_ people. He listened, and heard. He looked, and noticed. He may come across as an egocentric person, but above all else he was a people person... and he was the truest of friends, she realized.

Reaching over in an affectionate gesture, she ruffled his hair and smirked when she was awarded with his shocked expression. "Maybe I could learn to trust you more after all, since you already put your trust in me so explicitly."

It took him a few moments before he could respond, but when he finally did recover from his state of shock, he was laughing. "Ahaha! I knew it. You wouldn't betray someone as awesome as me. You like me more than you let on, Renei!"

Her eyes narrowed, and her fingers curled in order to give a hard yank on his hair. Her voice became flat, losing all affection that it might have had in it a moment before. "You still have to use honorifics when you speak to me."

Wincing, but still laughing despite himself, Shin tried to nod; though it proved difficult when she was tugging sharply on his hair like that.

Eventually, the tugging actually turned into petting, and he was reduced to a state of shock all over again when he heard her muttering, "Strange... I didn't picture your hair being so soft."

He was about to smile in absolute joy, when she suddenly caught herself and quickly added on, "I thought it would feel more like a bird's nest, since that's usually what it looks like. And maybe have a candy wrapper or two tangled in it somewhere. I was almost afraid to touch it, because I wondered if you ever wash it."

Well, ouch... but at least she was opening up to him more.

After only a little more of the petting, Renei removed her hand from his head and Shin came away with his hair looking much more tame than it usually did. Unknown to him, she had always wanted to style the wild locks into a more respectable image. Her handiwork from just now had left him with all of his hair matted to the top of his head, although a few of the more stubborn strands were still sticking out at odd angles.

"So," He spoke up, completely unaware of the flatness to his hair now, and oblivious to the pleased smirk that Renei was trying to hide behind her hand. He took a quick glance at his studded watch. "Classes don't start for another fifteen minutes. Wanna walk around with me for a bit? We could go find Haru and the others."

Renei shook her head, smirk slipping away as her mouth set itself into a determined line. The playful atmosphere changed immediately to a more serious one. "There are still some things I need to take care of."

Shin suddenly looked excited, getting riled up for no good reason. "Can I co―"

He was cut off with a crisp, "No you may not."

xx

 _She certainly looks lively this morning,_ Tora thought to himself as he watched Renei approach him from across the hall.

He had yet to hear from Maki regarding whether or not he had convinced her to attend the party, and he didn't know if the Elite had done much either. So needless to say, he was curious about what was going to happen when Renei stopped in front of him.

"Perfect timing, Nakajima." He hid his curiosity behind a full smile and a jeering remark. "I'm feeling a bit thirsty, and I was looking for someone to bring me a bev―"

He didn't get much of a chance to poke his fun at her because she interrupted him. "I'll deal with you later." Her eyes searched around the rest of the corridor. "Where's Kaon-san?"

Golden orbs sharply narrowed as they regarded her. Later? He was not second-hand business. He was always the first, or _should_ always come first, at least. She still seemed to be acting stubborn... Had Maki or any of the others even tried changing her mind yet? He set his jaw in annoyance and replied tersely, "I don't make it a habit to keep track of her. Why?"

"You must be losing your touch if you can't keep track of even one of your subordinates." She disregarded his gaze and question by moving to step around him.

"I've found," Suddenly he was looming in her personal space. His movements were slow, deliberate, as he forced her back until she was up against the wall, which he placed an arm against to effectively block her way. "that if they... _fear_ me," He emphasized the word 'fear' with a heavy heat that made the word burn the air when it left his lips. "enough, I can trust that they won't do anything stupid when I'm not looking."

"I wonder what stupid is, by your standards." She marveled for a moment in a lighter tone, and then her gaze narrowed as well and her lips pursed in a look that was halfway between sober and bitter. "Obviously it's not doing something like showing up at a person's residence late at night, to blackmail them into capitulation."

Tora stilled. He was unsure about what she was alluding to, but was quick in assuming that if it was blackmail she was talking about, then Kaon had something to do with it. He smiled tauntingly and leaned closer to her, now fully confident in the fact that, like it or not, she would be giving into him. He opened his mouth to speak, to tease, but didn't get even the first word out before Renei ducked underneath his arm and started off in the direction she was headed before, towards the Student Council room. He was left there, looking stupid, gaping at the empty space on the wall where she had once been.

"As I said, we'll talk _later_ , President. I have some other business to attend to first with a different blonde."

Frowning, and now even further frustrated, Tora didn't allow her to get very far before he caught her arm in a firm grip and roughly pulled her back to him. No, he thought to himself. There was no 'later'. She would speak with him _now_.

The startled sound she unintentionally emitted when she stumbled backwards and was spun around to be suddenly pressed flush against his chest, proved to be amusing for him. He smirked, having every appearance of a cat holding a mouse hostage ― playing with its food ― and then placed his lips at her ear in order to whisper what he had been about to say to her.

"I said that I would change you to my liking." She stared up at him, nonplussed, as his lips spread in a slow and carefree sort of sparkling, blindingly dazzling grin that did nothing to hide his sharp teeth. "Is it working yet?"

The pause then left a tension in the air that was palpable. Tora waited patiently for Renei to collect herself before speaking to him, not at all minding that he could take his sweet time breathing in the clean scent of her hair, and purring in her ear, watching gleefully as a slight shiver shook her frame. If she kept these types reactions up, his interest in her just might have the potential to last after all; perhaps even for quite some time.

"Igarashi." When at last she spoke, the sound of her voice was lower than usual, quieter, too. Not at all like the shrill sound of a mouse. And there was the hint of smirk in her tone that he could easily detect by ear without having to check the look on her face. "You should know that, in order to bend others to your will, you have to do a whole lot more than just sound convincing."

He chuckled then, despite himself, and the action caused a stream of hot breath to warm the area behind her ear, making her twitch in his grasp. He held her tightly to him though, not yet allowing escape. "Using my own words against me, I see." She tried making an actual effort to move away from him then, but his grip only tightened as he moved to assess her face. Her eyes were narrowed and filled with irritation, and there was a blush creeping up her neck. Good. These sort of reactions... were the most gratifying. "Very tacky move, Nakajima, and also one that you've used before. I'm a little disappointed, you know, you're losing creativity points. Do you really enjoy mimicking me that much?"

"I wasn't aware we had set up a point system." He could practically feel her fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Instead of doing that, however, she merely cocked an eyebrow at him.

"It's been up since the beginning." He raised his own brow as if to say 'how stupid of you, you didn't know?' "And ― not that it's at all surprising ― I'm winning." He smirked.

"Says you." Renei made the move of sticking out her chin, like she always did when she was feeling especially defiant or overconfident. "I believe that, given my impressive history of putting you in your place _and_ getting the last word in, I'm the one who's ahead."

"Given how long it takes you to make a rebuttal at times, I disagree with that."

"I'm not the only one who pauses to think every now and again before I form a response. And given how I manage to take you by surprise so often with hardly having to try, I'm still in the lead."

He snorted. "If that counts for something, then I've certainly beaten you at that."

She actually did roll her eyes this time. "Doubtful. You are perfectly predictable, Igarashi."

"Oh _am_ I?"

They were already breathing harshly against each other's faces, but when he pushed her back into the wall again and completely covered her body with his, they were so close that they shared each other's air, breath for breath.

Each of them opened their mouths again, yet neither of them said another word. Tora's eyes, Renei noted, were bright and active, so animated that they may as well have been sparking dangerously with electrical currents. And Renei's eyes, Tora noted, were still just as absorbent, sucking everything into them, and still just as sharp, just as annoyingly beautiful, but also harsh and scolding, as ever.

"I detest you."

"I despise you."

Saying this for entirely different personal reasons, they each spoke at the same time, voices overlapping, ringing in each other's ears as one sound.

The contrast between the two was so great, and yet paper thin at the same time.

"Scaaary... I've got the shivers now. It's like you two are looking into a mirror or something."

Gold and indigo tore away from each other then when another presence became known. Tora wasn't sure if he was more reluctant or relieved to step back and put some space between them, and Renei wasn't sure what one emotion she should try to settle on, there were just so many swirling around inside of her. They both took a moment to blink away the image of the other's eyes that was now burned onto their retinas before searching for the owner of the voice that had just interrupted them. With all the conflicting feelings flying through the air between them, it took them more than a few seconds to notice the pesky blonde a few paces away.

Kaon waved at them with the pawed hand of her beloved Edward. "You were looking for me, weren't you?" She smiled, and her eyes became thinner, more catlike, the sole embodiment of mischief. "You know, individually you're both so good at keeping up appearances... but it seems that you're the most contentious, vile types of people when you're together."

Tora felt no need to respond to that, and Renei moved further away from him and cleared her throat. "Kaon-san. About the photos ―"

"I'm having Ichitaro dispose of them as we speak."

That seemed unlikely, but one had to hope. "All of them?"

"Every single copy that's on my flash drive, yes."

Folding her arms, Renei produced her best skeptical glare. "What about any that _aren't_ on the drive?"

Kaon rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we got rid of those too." and then smirked. "Don't you wanna know why?"

"Anything to make this conversation go by faster." Tora interrupted, glaring with bored look in his eyes. _"Why?_ "

As always, the other girl seemed oh so terribly glad to have so much attention placed on her. Her eyes twinkled as she spoke. "Because, I saw you, Renei. Earlier, in front of the school with Yoshikawa." The other girl's lips stretched even further across her face, forming a grin that went almost from ear to ear, as she took note of Renei's flush and the President's narrowed gaze and raised brow. "Apparently, you're the noble kind of desperate after all. Anyway, we figured that getting rid of all of the photographs from that night would be your condition for agreeing to our terms. You're not the type to just give in without any sort of negotiation."

There was a brief pause where Renei allowed the information to sink in, and this allowed Tora to interject with his usual smugness. "Didn't I tell you, Nakajima," He crossed his arms and tossed her a self-important smirk. "that you would bend to my will soon enough?"

Her eyes lit up suddenly with a flash. "Oh, it seems I've just remembered something. Kaon-san is right, I'm not the type to just give in with no questions asked. I have some other negotiations to discuss with you still, Igarashi."

"There's no need." He said dismissively, his eyes now bored again as he leaned back against the wall. "Consider them already denied."

Renei pressed on anyway, as per usual, with her eyes narrowed and her voice sounding crisp. "It's one simple demand and I'm sure you can allow it."

"I bet I know what it is." Kaon piped up, wanting to feel more included. "She doesn't want to go shopping with us, or get her makeup and hair done by Arashiyama. Which is really such a shame, because otherwise," She shot Renei a venomous glance. "she'll look as uninteresting and out of style as she usually does."

Renei ignored the other girl completely and continued to pester Tora. "She's not wrong about what I want. I buy my own dress. I style my own person. That's all I ask."

Considering how much this was actually bothering her, the blond President didn't want to relent. He shrugged, another smirk rising on his lips. "Denied."

"I am _not_ going shopping with Umekoji―"

"Then I'll just send Maki to get a gown for you." He regarded her with a careful eye and tilted his head slightly as if it were a better angle to study her at. "What are your measurements?"

The anger in her eyes and sudden defensive stance that she took was noticeable right away, and he smirked roguishly at her. "Never mind, I think I already know them just from looking at you. You're taller than most, and the bust must be―"

"I'll be picking out my own dress, thank you very much." She quickly interjected. "Stop being so ridiculous about things."

Tora leisurely peeled himself away from the wall and took a meaningful step toward her. "You are in no place to be unreasonable, Nakajima."

She met his challenge with her own. "And you have no right to force me to play dress up. I am not your doll."

"Oh my," Kaon made a big show of covering up Edward's eyes. "looks as if a lover's quarrel is about to break out again."

Indeed, it did look as if the two were equally excited and upset. Sparks of emotions were flying through the air, crashing like waves, building up like wildfire. They each looked ready to pounce on the other, and it was hard to tell who would win if a fight _did_ happen to break out.

"Nakajima-san."

And then there was quiet and calm. The sense was recovered for both of them once Maki had suddenly stepped between them. Neither of them had registered his presence until now, and the suddenness of him being there, and separating them from one another, broke both of them free of their storm of emotions.

"Please don't cause any unnecessary trouble." The Vice President had his eyes on Renei as he said this; his voice was low and insistent.

She recalled the letter, specifically the last thing he had written at the end of it. The reminder served to annoy her, but it was also the reason she was then able to ease back and realize that fighting wouldn't accomplish anything but starting more trouble. Maki was right to intervene. She had to have her wits about her in these situations. Without her wits, without a stable mind, she had almost no patience and very low tolerance levels.

"Right." She straightened herself out, cleared her throat, made sure she had the attention on her when she next spoke. "Here is my last negotiation, then." She stared at Maki for a long moment, before looking over to Tora once more. "I will... consent to... the makeup routine, and the hair styling... however, since I alone know my measurements, I'll pick out the dress. We don't need to go to all the trouble of getting me fitted for a new one, or trying on endless outfits at a store. That's too much hassle, and I won't do it, not when there's so much work to be done both in my usual classes and also on the Student Council. I don't have the time for frivolous things like shopping trips, and neither does anyone else here. Can we at least agree on this?"

Maki looked at Tora, who looked as if he were debating. Renei already knew what the answer would be though, once the two shared a certain private look with one another.

"Very well." And with those two words, Tora was already walking away, seeming to be headed in the direction of the Student Council room. "Let's end this debate with that then. Maki, join me in my office."

Silently, the raven-haired boy followed behind, and the two of them made their way up the hall at a casual pace before rounding the corner and disappearing from view.

"Those two are so odd at times." Kaon suddenly mused aloud, and Renei jumped, having completely forgotten that she was there.

xx

The moment they walked through the door, Tora spun to face his comrade and quirked an eyebrow. "How did you do it?"

Maki took the care to close the door behind them for the purpose of total privacy. He knew that when Tora had asked him to follow him, they would end up discussing the main reason behind why Renei had been so complaisant just now. "I appealed to her feelings toward family, in a subtle way so that she would not suspect that I was manipulating her. Just in case that didn't work, I had already asked Kaon to try the other, more aggressive route."

"What about family?"

"You said to change her mind using any means necessary. I may have disclosed some personal information about you and your parents that may or may not have been entirely truthful."

Seeing that the blonde looked displeased, Maki calmly added on, "Well? It worked, didn't it?"

They shared a long, meaningful look before Tora finally glanced away. His gaze grew distant and stormy, and his voice was a growl emitted through gritted teeth. "You know full well that I don't like my privacy breached. Especially when it comes to mine and my parent's relationship."

"She doesn't know much, and with the way I worded it, I made it mostly about her. As a result she will be acting far more obliging than before. And even if she should ask any questions about it, knowing you, you would just make up some lies to tell her, wouldn't you?"

"The last time I tried to keep something from her," The blond said, recalling the 'Misaki' incident in his mind. "She _knew_ I was keeping something from her. And she went poking around for answers all on her own, behind my back."

"I wouldn't worry yourself over this. Keep her busy with work and she won't even have the time to bother you about it, or go behind your back to find answers."

"If this ends up coming back later on to bite me in the ass," Tora's suddenly crude response was incongruous to the cool, detached gaze that he sent his friend's way. "be prepared to take full responsibility."

"I'm not all that worried about it. After all," Maki's smile held a hint of sadness to it. "Lying is what you do best."


	14. Turn the Cheek and Blind the Eye

A/N: I'll just be answering reviews for this note. Feel free to skip ahead to the chapter if you want!

 **WhiteAngel83:** Lol yeah I know my chapters range from normal sized to super frigging long. Sorrynotsorry.

 **Bailey webster:** Hey there! Thank you :) Ugh I have problems with glitchy wifi constantly too, it sucks. And those are cute pet names! Today I saw on facebook that someone named their cat Riceball, and their other cat's name is Sushi. Combines two of my favorite things, cats and food! Cute. I'd totally love to dress them up as the foods they're named after, that would be hilarious! If I had a cat tho I'd name it Cheshire, Chess for short. This is due, of course, to my obsession with 'Alice In Wonderland'. The nickname is because I love the game of Chess. I know it's way past time for this, but thanks for the best wishes to me on Christmas and New Years! I hope you had a lovely time over those holidays with your family/friends.

 **MystearicaBlaze:** Awww your eagerness is super happy-making ^_^ Sorry my updating is so sporadic. Hopefully, the chapter content makes up for that. Also, about Renei teasing Masao... yeah, she won't be the only one teasing him about his very 'special' coworker *cough cough -secretgirlfriend- cough* Btw I love Renei too and if I ever met Kaon I would probably want to strangle her as well. Oh and thanks for your support with this story!

 **Devilambyt:** Why, thank you. What kind and awesome things you say to me! XD Here, have a peach *hands peach* Not the princess but the fruit.

 **Ka-tay's mind:** Oh darling, sorry to have kept you waiting. Your consistent and thoughtful reviews always deserve a response! Thanks for the compliments, I worked really hard on that scene between Renei and Kaon. I understand what you mean about eyes and hands, eyes are indeed windows to the soul, and hands can either receive or take, which are two very powerful things a person is capable of. 'Never the prey, and always the predator' now that's a clever line. I'm glad you brought it up, it does have some sort of direct correlation to Renei's character, doesn't it? Ya know, you might know Renei as well as I do, and I'm the one who created her! And yeessss, I'm so glad I got the manipulation down right! I was rather proud of those last few lines I had Kaon spouting, hehe. I made her seem like such a bitch. Admittedly it was fun to write, since I'm not all that bitchy in real life, I lived it a little through Kaon's character. I know this is late in coming, but I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Years as well!

 **CMJ:** I have actually not read the manga. Well, I've gone through bits and pieces of the manga (mainly, the scenes with Tora in them) just to get more of a feel for his character that the anime didn't provide. I REALLY need to get around to reading the entire manga all the way through from start to finish, don't I? Believe me, it's on my to-do list. Has been for a while now. I'm in the middle of reading Dengeki Daisy at the moment tho, and let me tell ya, that manga is SO SO SO GOOOOD! You should read it if you haven't yet, I highly recommend it. Also - haha the inside of your head while reading the chapter was fun to see! I got all excited when you noticed that even the minor characters have some interest to their character. I tend to think the minor characters should have a story to tell as well. And don't worry, all the WHYS and the WHATS will definitely be explained... in due time. Actually, some of it is explained in this chapter. Better get to reading it if you want your answers ;) Thank you for reviewing!

 **SakKim98:** Yeah, I know, but she'll be okay. Renei is strong. But also alone, because of her strength. Quite paradoxical, isn't she? Also, I would gladly teach you some stuff about writing, if you really would like some tips. Just PM me about it :) You're awesome too!

 **Cassie Star:** Yaaayy I'm super glad you love it! Smiles all around! *smile, sparkle sparkle* Thank you!

 **shreyasaif:** Such a compliment about my OC makes me feel super great about myself for some reason. Most likely because I put a lot of work into my character development. Thank you so very much for taking notice! I'm happy ^-^

 **StorytellerD132:** Wow, thanks so much! I strive for that! Yay! NAILED IT! XD

 **animeluvr99:** I think I PM'd you about this already, but yes, Masao is the best, like I really frickin' love his character to the point where I wish he were MY older brother

 **CColondam:** Yes, yes, the situation between Tora and Renei has been EXTREMELY FUN to play around with... I mean, tension is oh-so-very thrilling to read, isn't it? Well it's just as fun to write, and I'm quite glad you're enjoying it (:

 **hm813:** You're very welcome! Sorry it took a while to update. I really appreciate your sweet review ^_^

 **Akane:** Haha I totally get how you feel. I myself have been a limb-flailing mess before whenever I've seen that one of my favorite fanfics on this site has been updated. It's always a very exciting moment. Oh, and thank you so so so much for the compliments that warm my heart!

 **Guest(s):** All the guest comments have been very uplifting and motivating. You are amazing. Much love goes out to you, from me *kisses all around* Mwah, mwah! I luv ya.

 **Anon:** Thank you! Emotions are my specialty I guess. I like to feel things and portray them as certain examples in my writing. Now, to answer your questions 1) Renei's name is pronounced 'ren-ay'. That's an 'e' sound as in the English word 'pen' and an 'a' sound as in the English word 'pay'. R-eh-nay. Renei. 2) Yeah, in the picture, her hair should look longer and darker. I'm human, I make mistakes. I drew that picture you know, and my specialty, as I've mentioned before, is drawing on _paper_ , not on a _computer_. So I knew ahead of time that it wouldn't be perfect (even tho I did work on it for hours on end, it still wasn't perfect in the end, but whatever). Online drawing isn't my thing, that's why I don't have a DeviantArt account. I'm glad you found the chapter fulfilling, and don't fret, you will get the answers to your other questions regarding Tora and his parents and Renei etc, in due time.

 **YouKnowWho:** Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE THE 100th PERSON TO REVIEW THIS STORY! YOU WIN A PET UNICORN AND AN ALL EXPENSES PAID TRIP INTO OUTER SPACE! (not really, but I can give you a clicky pen and the lint in my pocket;) You're amazing and your comment has succeeded in adding on to my growing happiness.

You are all so wonderful! Thank you for the reviews! Keep em' coming please~

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Turn the Cheek and Blind the Eye (let it go)

...

Renei didn't want to allow the Elite into the apartment once more, but she did it. She didn't want to face Arashiyama and his arsenal of make-up, or allow him to do whatever he wished to do with her hair, but she did it. She didn't want to sit still as Yi Hua told the story about how her talented fiancé 'fixed' her, showing Renei before and after pictures, or listen to Kaon spout the usual insults, or let Tomu and Ichitaro search through her closet for a proper pair of shoes for her to wear with her dress, but she did it.

Because she really had no other choice in any of these matters.

However, she could at least find comfort in the fact that she had been provided with a single freedom and comfort― dressing herself.

It was true, what Renei had claimed about not having the time for shopping trips. She had actually enlisted Nao's help in finding something to wear; writing down the correct measurements and handing her enough cash for a moderately priced dress, Renei had trusted her friend to buy something that was tasteful, yet not over-the-top.

Seeing as Nao was the type to have very good taste in clothing, nobody was disappointed with what Renei was currently wearing as she sat on a chair in her bathroom and allowed Arashiyama to take the curlers out of her hair. A beautiful blushing pink evening gown molded perfectly with the shape of her body, with a skirt that was just enough length to accompany her long legs and touch down on the floor. The silk felt nice on her skin, like wearing water; it moved fluently with her body and was nearly weightless. The neckline was modest, and scooped to connect with short, sheer sleeves that appeared the be held together by tiny embroidered flowers.

It was subtle yet elegant and she approved of it very much.

"Ah~" With a deep sigh, her 'stylist' rolled the last curler down to release the final long lock of hair. "Finally. You're complete."

Arashiyama pulled away, and everyone else followed, taking a step back to admire his handiwork. Renei raised an eyebrow as she was examined, not having a clue as to what she might look like after all of this, since she was facing away from the mirror the entire time.

"Huh. You really are a miracle worker." Kaon mumbled to the young man, her eyes a bit wider than usual.

Everyone else just nodded in agreement.

Renei sighed. Her patience with these people had worn thin. "Can I look now?"

Her 'stylist' was beaming with pride as he gestured to the mirror with a flourish, his smile sparkling. "Please, do. And feel no need to repay me. I did this because I wanted to, after all."

Renei made a face and stood from her seat, her legs a bit numb after all of that sitting around like a still doll. She mentally prepared herself, and turned to face the mirror.

"...This is false advertising." Her statement was supposed to sound dull, as if she were unimpressed. Unfortunately, a touch of awe had managed to make its way through.

She looked nothing like her usual self. Somehow, her eyes looked bigger, brighter, they shimmered; she guessed it was just the effect of the eye shadow and liner, but it still amazed her how such things could make that much of a difference. Her cheekbones were highlighted, looking ready to cut through steel, and the apples of her cheeks were thoroughly rosy, dusted a shade that matched well with the natural tan of her skin. Her lashes went on for days, but technically, they weren't her actual lashes. And her lips were plumped, ripe and glossy.

As for her hair, which was naturally stick-straight and lacking in volume... she wasn't sure how it came to be, but the long chocolate locks were resting over her shoulders in big rolling masses of curls that were worthy of a shampoo commercial.

This was entirely different from her normal routine of washing her face in the morning, slicking her hair back in a no-nonsense ponytail, and occasionally wearing a light layer of mascara, only to make her look more awake during the day.

This was... Admittedly... An impressive transformation.

It also made her feel entirely uncomfortable, especially with everyone's eyes glued to her. She hadn't been gawked at like this since the night she had dinner with the Igarashis.

"It is not false advertising, I simply took a raw piece of coal and polished it into a rare diamond!" Ayashiyama exclaimed.

"He worked his magic on you, just as he did with me." Yi Hua commented, smiling as she hugged her fiancé's arm. "You did a very good job, Tenryu."

"Thank you, Li."

"Igarashi's gonna be in for a big surprise." Tomu was snickering into his hand.

"Oh his reaction will be priceless! Although I think he'll be expecting her to look something like this." His twin also commented, accompanied with a nod from Ichitaro.

As everyone took to their own conversations that revolved around Renei, her new look, and Tora's possible reaction to it, she stood there staring back at her reflection, feeling her nerves starting to fray. It was only an hour before the gala, and already she knew that tonight was going to be a very bothersome experience.

But she would plaster her brightest, award-winning smile on anyway, and play her part in it.

xx

A little less than an hour later, Tora's limousine pulled up to the large apartment building that housed Renei and her older brother. He admired the tall, expensive building with a bored eye before flipping open his phone in order to get a hold of his escort for this evening's gala.

One short phone call with Nakajima later, and soon he saw the doors at the front of the building beginning to revolve. They reflected in the overhead lights from the building as they spun, the surfaces of glass and metal marring his view of the girl passing through them. He rolled down his window once she had stepped out onto the walkway, in order to better see what she looked like past the darkness of both his car's interior and the shadows the night air painted her in. Arashiyama had sounded far too inflated with pride when they had spoken earlier, and due to this, Tora felt he had no choice but to be curious about the fuss the other was making. It was just Nakajima, after all. He had grown quite used to her face by now, and yes, she was beautiful, so what? Many other women were just as beautiful. What good would a little makeup do to enhance that? Though he was sure Tenryu had his ways, it was still just Nakajima, the same as she'd ever been...

Tora's mind quieted as he leaned closer to the open window, peering at the girl approaching him more closely.

Renei pushed her way through the revolving doors and, with slow, timorous steps, approached the vehicle idling in front of the apartment complex. Her hands felt clammy, and it annoyed her. The curls of hair bouncing against the middle of her back and over her chest annoyed her, and even the late evening sky and the light, calm breeze, managed to annoy her.

And the golden eyes she could see peering at her through the open window of the car, most _definitely_ annoyed her. They pierced her with an unrelenting stare that she felt more than saw. They looked her up and down, took in every inch of her, and they ― perhaps unknown to their owner ― held a gaze filled with approval and something that bordered on actual desire.

That unsettled her. Tora Igarashi desiring something. Perhaps a person. Perhaps _her_.

She shivered and immediately scowled at such an inane thought. Sure, it would be beneficial to get along better with him, but not like _that_. She was not trying to tempt him. Definitely not. All the make-up and hair styling was _his_ idea and not hers, after all.

She replaced her scowl with an expression that gave away nothing of her thoughts once she came to a stop in front of the white limousine. Tora was still caught up in staring intensely at her, so she cleared her throat awkwardly and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you not going to open the door for me, Igarashi? I was under the impression that you know the proper way to act around a lady."

Her voice, clear and dry, passed through the blond's ears and seemed to bring him back to reality. Remembering himself, Tora tossed her the usual sinister grin before moving out of the car in order to allow her to climb in first.

Now it was her turn to get a good look at him. Renei didn't get quite so caught up in her staring as he had, but she felt a rush of blood hit her cheeks when she merely _inhaled_ his scent, let alone looked at him. Whatever cologne he was wearing was potent and, much like a poison, lethal to the senses. Rich, sweet, heady, and absolutely divine. She would bet anything that it had cost a lot of money, and his suit, even more.

He wore Armani well ― looked about as comfortable in it as an average-day teenage boy looked comfortable in a pair of sweats. And, standing beside the open car door of his limousine like that, with the palm of one of his hands open for her to take, buttery blond hair combed to perfection and a teasing grin and smoldering eyes, he looked as if he was some sort of celebrity prince ready to take his princess to a red carpet event.

"Milady." He spoke the word with a bite to it, meeting her gaze impatiently. "While I understand the need to take it all in, I regret to inform you that we'll be late if you continue to stand there gawking." He leaned into her ear, breathing against it just enough to tickle, "In fact, I don't think we'll be able to make it anywhere but the back seat of my car and perhaps afterwards, a hotel somewhere, if you keep that up."

His smile was as handsome as it was harmful, and his eyes focused intently on her face as he leaned back, searching for her reaction. To his disappointment though, all her reaction consisted of was a charming smile of her own reflected back at him.

"I wasn't gawking." She stated plainly, knowing perfectly well that she had been. "I was thinking about every other person I'd rather be in the company of tonight."

Tora's eyebrows rose, but he said nothing in return.

There was a thick tension sticking to them both like static cling. It was rather uncomfortable, in the silence, in the dark. It felt as if the world was a heavy weight starting to move in from all sides towards them, trying to cause either one or the other to crumple beneath its force.

But, Renei thought rather decidedly, she would not be the one to fall ― and even if she were, she would not fall first, or, she would trip him up and bring him tumbling down with her. She took his hand, ignoring the flicker in his eyes that turned them a dangerous shade darker. "It's a good thing that I look nothing like myself at the moment, otherwise I would worry that you were beginning to take too much of a liking to me."

As he helped her into the car, Tora leaned in after her with a smirk. "Well, you _do_ look like a dream tonight. An impossible one. A false one."

"Funnily enough," She met his eyes as she settled back into the seat. "that's exactly what you look like all of the time." His outfit caught her attention again ― fine fabric and glory and screaming without words 'look at me, aren't I stunning?'. It matched him a little too perfectly. So she decided on a dry, unimpressed comment, "I see you dressed up just a bit more than usual for tonight."

Tora looked completely unabashed, returning in all seriousness, "This is a three hundred and eighty thousand yen suit, Nakajima. I wouldn't call that a bit."

He eyed the way her lips curled up at the edges, taunting him. "I've seen better men wear less expensive clothes with much more class."

The blond young man stared back at his fiancée calmly, showing nothing of his intrigue or slight annoyance. The game was definitely on tonight, she was being feistier than usual, it would seem. He felt somewhat foolish for expecting her to be on her best behavior, especially after all the recent turmoil that had bubbled up between them. It disappointed him to see that her confidence was still attached, despite having been practically forced to do his bidding, and although he would have guessed she was uncomfortable all dressed up as she was, she _was_ owning the look. At times, it still managed to completely baffle him how different she was now compared to the naive child she once was all those years ago.

He leaned back in his seat, not having realized that he had pressed in so close to her, and rolled his eyes with a snort. "I'm sure you have."

"Hmm. In any case," Renei's voice had changed to that firm sort of quiet that it always sounded like when she was working, conducting business. "We have the perfect look for tonight. I think your parents will be pleased."

It irked him greatly that she would bring that up, that she felt the need to bring it up. Even more so, that she wasn't wrong. He could see his parents in his mind's eye, looking the both of them up and down as they walked into the gala together. They were supposed to look the right part; handsome gentleman and lovely lady. The ideal fit. A charming arrangement.

It was something so predictable, which he despised. And the very thought of his parents being pleased with their appearance together almost made him want to kick Renei out of the car and attend the party without her.

But that would go against his personal plans. He had to deliver a good performance, otherwise, his parents wouldn't hold up their end of the bargain.

Tora tilted his head away, acting as if he hadn't heard her and instead opting to stare out the window. Renei took his silence with grace and decided to ignore him for the rest of the ride as well, closing her eyes and allowing herself to rest as the car maneuvered through the streets.

xx

Miyuki Sekine arrived early to the party, even though it was usually her thing to arrive fashionably late. Her new beau had insisted upon being punctual though, he was just that kind of guy.

His name was Rokuro Noguchi, a real estate tycoon who had a penchant for dating older women. She was in fact eight years older than him, not that it mattered since they were both well into adulthood, and their relationship wasn't effected negatively by their age difference. He was just as mature as she, plus handsome, successful, and good in bed. And since she hadn't found a guy as promising as this in what felt like ages, she was more than happy to show him off to people.

Which is exactly what she was doing now, as she stepped into the foyer of the Igarashi's mansion with her hand placed possessively on his offered arm. She tried to withhold her smirk of triumph when Aya was the first to approach them.

"Miyuki-san! It's so lovely seeing your gorgeous face again!" The blonde woman, wrapped up in an ivory silk dress embellished with gold sequins and heels that glittered like spun glass, came to an immediate stop in front of them and pinned them in place with that hawkish gaze of hers. "I'm simply thrilled to have you at my party. And who is this?" She got right to the point, her eyes dancing up and down the man at Miyuki's side.

Automatically, Miyuki's grip on her escort's arm tightened the slightest bit, making him look over and give her a questioning glance. "This is Rokuro Noguchi, I invited him to tag along for the evening." She looked over at him with a proud smile. "You may have heard of him. He's quite the success in the real estate business."

"Oh, of course I've heard of him! I just had no idea what he looked like." Aya, being the people-pleaser that she was, outstretched her hand in greeting and offered up her most dazzling smile. "I'm Aya Igarashi. It's a pleasure."

Rokuro shook hands with the other woman and gave her his usual polite grin. "Pleasure to meet you as well. And I might add, your home is magnificent, although not nearly as impressive as your beauty."

Miyuki fought the urge to roll her eyes. From the day she'd met him, he'd always been a charmer. Perhaps she'd have a talk with him about that later. For now, she tried tuning out Aya's laughter and the new conversation that started up between the two of them, instead opting to look around the pristine entrance hall and see if she recognized any of the faces of those who had just arrived.

Her pink lips pursed and her eyes narrowed for a moment as she examined a young couple walking through the large open doors. It took almost a full minute for her brain to register who it was, but when the realization flooded through her she was beaming; her eyes shone with delight and she couldn't have looked more pleased if she tried.

But when her daughter turned and locked eyes with her, the expression on her face did not reflect the same look.

xx

Tora had been saying something or other about how she shouldn't have fallen asleep in the car because he could have easily taken advantage of her (even though he didn't), when Renei felt someone else's eyes on her. She wasn't really paying the blond much attention anyway, so she looked around the room, expecting to see his parents watching them... when instead she met the gaze of someone that made her entire body freeze and her breath catch in her throat.

Her mother.

All dolled up in a royal purple cocktail dress that matched her eyes, wearing heels that made her already long legs practically sinful to look at, and with her hair falling over her shoulders in chocolate curls that were similar-looking to Renei's, there was her mother. Appearing as glamorous as ever, there stood Miyuki Sekine: CEO of Echo Entertainment, and bane of her existence.

"You know, you look a lot like her."

Renei didn't respond. Her eyes were stuck on the woman that was staring right back at her, trying to wave her over. She wouldn't budge though.

"Her eyes lack the blue that yours have in them, and she is paler, but you're both the same height, aren't you? You have the same type of build, the same facial structure, the same hair ―"

"Shut up Igarashi." She finally managed to meet Tora's gaze. He was wearing his usual 'I-am-a-perfect-gentleman' mask, but there was a flicker in those golden eyes that spoke its secret for the split second that she saw it ― he was feeling triumphant about something. And she definitely thought she heard a hint of mischief in his tone.

That bastard, he _knew!_ He knew her mother was going to be here, and he knew that she wouldn't like that, which is why he purposely didn't tell her about it.

"Looks like she's waving us over, Nakajima." Tora's lips lifted up into a subtle smirk that only she would have been able to notice. "You're not going to ignore her, are you?"

Renei gave him an explosive glare that brought fire to her eyes, before rearranging her face into a blank mask as he pulled her half-willingly over to the trio that contained his mother, her mother, and what she could only assume was her mother's catch of the day.

"There's my darling daughter! It feels as though I haven't seen you in forever, even though we sat down to lunch together just the other day!" Miyuki greeted her with a hug that Renei returned out of duty more than actually wanting to do so. The woman also lied about them having lunch the other day, but Miyuki was prone to lying in order to save face.

"Mother," Renei could sense Tora's sudden surprise when her voice came out sounding as warm and loving as can be. She understood why he felt that, since it always surprised her, too, how well she could play the part of an affectionate daughter. Especially when the reality was that she couldn't stand her mother. "it really has felt like forever. You look beautiful this evening, what are you wearing?"

"It's who are you wearing, darling. Who." Her mother quickly corrected her, all the while with a smile plastered on her face. Renei tried her best not to walk away right then and there. She certainly hadn't missed the way the woman would correct her at every chance she got. "I'm wearing Jovani tonight. What about you? You look stunning, by the way. But I would expect no less from my daughter."

Renei didn't care who she was wearing, in fact, she hadn't bothered to ask Nao where the dress had come from. "Chanel." She quickly lied, choosing the first fashion brand that popped into her head. And then she didn't know whether to be thankful or annoyed when Tora stepped in between she and her mother.

"I don't believe I've seen you in quite some time, Miss Sekine." Tora took Miyuki's delicate hand in his own and swept his lips across the back of it in that usual charming way of his. "I'd like to thank you for attending my mother's party."

"Oh, Tora dear!" Renei wanted to roll her eyes when her mother started gushing over the young blond. Needless to say, Miyuki adored Tora. Always had and always will. "I've missed you so much, but my, look how you've grown in the time we haven't seen each other! Your pictures have always been handsome, but seeing you in person again is a true delight."

Tora merely smiled back, and then his mother decided to cut in. "Tora, allow me to introduce you to the man who is accompanying Miyuki-san this evening." She gestured to the man who had been standing awkwardly off to the side up until now, and he took that as his cue to step forward. "This is ―"

"Rokuro Noguchi." Tora immediately stepped forward and shook hands with the guy. "We've actually met before, mother. You see, I bought a private lot from him several months back. It's where I keep my car collection."

"Yes, I do remember that." Rokuro's dark eyes lit up and his grin was the most genuine out of anyone's in the group. Renei's first impression of him was that he seemed like a nice enough guy. Too bad her mother would probably drop him in a week or so. "You said I could come by any time to drive those cars around myself, if I wanted. I believed it to be a joke of some sort."

"No, by all means," The words were accompanied by a friendly grin. "take one out for a spin. You have access to the lot, and I don't visit it nearly enough. Beauties like that deserve plenty of attention."

Renei's nose scrunched at the fact that Tora treated cars with more respect than he treated women. She also managed to be offended by the fact that he was fooling such a nice man with his pleasant facade. No doubt it was some sort of business ploy. Tora liked to keep everyone on his good side. And why else would he share something of his with another person? He was far too possessive to offer a deal like that without having ulterior motives behind it.

Their little tangent about cars must have ended, because she suddenly found herself staring down at Noguchi's extended hand. Mechanically, she reached out and accepted it, shaking it, and looking up at him with a smile. Sure, he was nice, but it still made her uncomfortable that he was dating her mother.

"― Yes, it's nice to meet you as well, Noguchi-san. My mother mentioned you to me at lunch. I was sure at the time that you were as wonderful as she claimed, but it is a relief to know that the stories are true."

With the way both he and her mother beamed at her, she knew she had said exactly what she was supposed to say.

The moment was ruined, however, when a familiar accented voice called out to Tora. And the blond barely had the chance to turn around before a tiny body wrapped in lace barreled straight into his chest.

"I thought you were going to meet me by the door?" Came the sultry purr from Sanyu, and also with her came the overpowering scent that must be her perfume. Renei withheld a gag, but her eyes did water, and Rokuro coughed quietly into his sleeve. "Why are you all the way over here?"

Tora somehow managed to look both unaffected by the hug, and the perfume. Gently, he eased her away from him and offered up a lazy grin. "You look gorgeous, Sanyu-san. It's a real shame I couldn't meet you by the door, but I was drawn into a conversation with my mother and her guests."

Sanyu's lips curled into a sly smile at the compliment. "Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." She tugged on his tie. "I like you in a suit."

It was at this point that Aya cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention over to her. She cocked an eyebrow at her son, silently willing him to explain to her what was going on. Beside her, Renei's mother looked equally unhappy, although her judgmental gaze was forced upon her own daughter rather than Tora.

"Mother, I believe I've already told you about Sanyu-san." Tora wrapped his arm around the petite girl's waist, causing Miyuki to glare daggers at it, as if doing that would make him remove it. Meanwhile, Aya looked only slightly less annoyed. "She is the newest exchange student at my school, the lovely daughter of Vasily and Chiasa Rulin."

"I attended a dinner with Chiasa-san once." Aya said, her narrow eyes carefully eyeing Sanyu. "Can't say I've ever had the chance to meet her husband though. But at least now I've met their daughter in person." She gave a curt nod toward the half-Russian girl. "Welcome to Japan, Sanyu-san, and welcome to the Igarashi estate. Will either of your parents be attending the party as well?"

"They couldn't make it tonight because they have a meeting to attend together for our company that is going to run late. However, they did tell me to wish you all the best on your birthday." Sanyu offered up her most brilliant grin. "I absolutely adore your outfit, by the way. It sparkles just like the snow in the Солнечный свет."

Although everyone was baffled by her slipping back into Russian, a compliment is still a compliment, so Aya accepted it with all the grace that an Igarashi had to have in any given circumstance. "Thank you, I appreciate such kind words. Please let your parents know that I would have loved to have them here tonight, but I understand why they could not attend. We'll have to entertain them another time." Her eyes, like a silver whirlwind, swept back over to Tora. He took that cue for what it was, and gave Sanyu directions to the main grand hall where the party would be taking place, explaining that he would meet her there soon.

And the five of them were left alone again, although the atmosphere was a lot more on the tense side now. Both mothers were staring at their children as if they had done something wrong. Tora knew that he was being faulted for allowing another young woman to hang all over him (especially in front of his fiancée and future mother-in-law) when he was supposed to be escorting no one else but Renei tonight. Renei knew she was being faulted for not stepping in between Tora and Sanyu and asserting herself as his fiancée. And they could sense from each other that the other wanted nothing more than to get out of there, quick, so without having to say a word they both turned to the other in unison.

"Tora-san, would you be kind enough to show me where the nearest restroom is?"

"Of course, Renei-san, right this way."

They whisked each other away before either mother could say a word, narrowly escaping what could have been all hell breaking loose.

xx

Tora closed the bathroom door behind them and secured the lock into place, and when he turned around he was met with the sight of Renei getting right up in his face. She even pushed a finger against his chest, hard, taking him a bit off guard and backing him into the door.

"My mother," She seethed, and he swore he had never seen her this angry before. Her eyes were practically trying to kill him. "is going to bite my head off because of you."

He shrugged, not really caring about her words, but rather, how angry he could get her. It was kind of exciting, having her pressed up against him like this with a gaze full of angry determination. It reminded him of how Ayuzawa could get, and he liked it. The only thing separating her from Misaki at the moment was the fact that Renei always carried the flowery scent of sakura blossoms with her. But such a sweet and innocent scent, he thought, didn't suit her current demeanor.

"If she finds out that you've been sleeping with Rulin-san, and who knows how many other girls, she will really let me have it. And she doesn't punish me directly. She punishes me by punishing someone else, someone I care a great deal about." She got so close she was breathing on his face, their mouths just inches apart. Her eyes bore into his, glittering like a tsunami, igniting a tumultuous fire. He could barely breathe at the sight of it. "She didn't have to be here, Igarashi. And I know she was supposed to be busy with work tonight. I checked."

Tora wasn't aware the Renei had actually checked up on that. Miyuki would have been working tonight, even though she had already received an invitation. But Maki had been the one to make sure that Renei's mother would attend the party. It wouldn't have taken much convincing, after all, Miyuki respected the Igarashis a great deal, and even if her work mattered to her, the relationship with Tora's family mattered more in the end.

"Why did you make sure she was here tonight?" The words were the last thing out of her mouth, and then she waited, the grip she now had on the lapels of his suit leaving creases that would deeply offend Giorgio Armani.

Slowly, as if not to startle her, he reached up and captured both her wrists in his strong grip. Then he leaned into her ear, smiling, grinning like mad, and told her the actual truth. "You could call it a form of payback, but I see it as more of a test. See, there's a part of you that has come to interest me, Nakajima, and I enjoy playing with it. But it takes some effort in order to bring it out of hiding."

Renei looked shocked at first, and then she became even more riled up, if possible. "My family and I are _not_ your test subjects. There are certain matters that are far too real, too serious, for you to be messing around with!"

He pulled back for a moment and regarded her with an amused gaze. "On a scale of one to ten, exactly how mad at me are you right now?"

She yanked on her hands, but his grip held tight. "Let go Igarashi! There is obviously no reasoning with you, so I am done talking to you." She gave another yank, but he merely smirked at her attempts to break free.

"Well I'm not done talking to you." Carefully, he moved both of her wrists into one hand. "You know what I think? Maybe I won't have to change you to my liking after all. I think, secretly, you're already my type. All I have to do is keep uncovering more of the truth," Reaching up with his free hand, he wiped away some of her lipstick. "behind the mask."

"If you are so damn interested in me," He blinked at her word usage. She never swore. Not once had he heard her swear up until now. She really _must_ be angry, to be acting out in such a way. "then why don't you just agree to marrying me already?"

"And if you are so damn infuriated with me, then why do you keep insisting that we get married?"

The response he got was a sudden silence, and it seemed all too suspicious to him.

"Your excuse is always the same ― that we're the perfect couple, that I'm the ideal partner for you because we'll never love each other, and that's just what you need, because you have developed a strong aversion to love. But that has never made complete sense to me, and I don't fully believe that it even makes sense to you. In fact, I think it's all a lie. I think," He leaned in close, and looked her right in the eyes. When she avoided his gaze, he knew he was definitely on to something. "You've given it your best shot, Nakajima, but when it comes to lying games I am the King. And the King knows all. You can't hide from me."

She surprised him by trying to argue his point. "Stop being so arrogant. You don't know all. What I told you wasn't a lie, it wasn't just an excuse I made up on the spot."

His eyes narrowed. "All I've done is tormented you. Relentlessly. We have fought each other nonstop. I've threatened you. Degraded you. Embarrassed you. And you're going to tell me that being in a marriage with someone who treats you like that is better than being in a marriage based on acts of love? You're a logical person, so you would understand eventually, that the smart move would be to take a chance with love rather than get caught up in an abusive relationship."

"I'm strong enough to take your crap. And how many times do I have to tell you, love is far more dangerous than anything―"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that." He insisted, and when she couldn't do it, he smirked. "You've been very convincing thus far, but I won't buy into it any longer. I haven't been giving you enough credit, and you've been using that against me. But now I see, you're as talented at acting as I am. Impressive of you, I must admit." He suddenly grabbed her chin, and tilted it up, forcing her to look at him. "What are you trying to protect with your lies, Nakajima?"

"It's who, actually." She didn't miss a beat, and her voice was steady. She had finally collected herself. "Who am I protecting. And the answer is myself. It has always been myself."

His smirk split open and showed his teeth, one of his canines winking at her. "There you go again. What did I just tell you? Lying won't work on me anymore." When he saw her biting her lip, he knew he had her. It was checkmate. "Remember that time in my office? When we first talked about all of this."

She scowled at him. "Of course I remember. And whatever you may think right now, I _didn't_ lie to you that day."

"Ah, but what did I tell you was the equivalent to lying? Tell me what I said to you, if you remember it so well."

Her scowl slipped, and her teeth went from gnawing at her lip, to the inside of her cheek. "What do you take me for? I don't recall everything word for word..."

"I told you that you never portray the whole truth. And that is the very same as lying." He let go of her chin finally, leaning back against the door in a lazy sense of triumph with that smirk still dancing on his face. "So let's say that your excuse wasn't entirely untrue. I'm sure your opinion about love being unstable and you wanting to have nothing to do with it is real enough. But I am no longer convinced that that is your main reason behind wanting me as your partner."

"Why?" She was regarding him with confusion now. And he couldn't really tell if she was putting on an innocent act, trying to seem oblivious, or if she was actually confused about how he figured it out. "What other reason would I have?"

"A less selfish reason. You see, I have finally figured out your one true flaw, Nakajima. You didn't think I would be up to the challenge, but I always have been searching for it. And after much investigation, I've finally found it out." He looked her up and down, from her face, to the soft curls of her hair, down to the bottom of her dress and back up again.

He recalled, for a moment, the first time he saw her after all those years of separation. That evening, when he walked down the stairs and got his first look at her, a new first impression had been made. He was expecting a gangly, giggly, innocent idiot, and he was met with an intelligent, beautiful young woman. And now, in a sense of déjà vu, he was being brought back to that same feeling of surprise and shock that he had felt in that moment. He had assumed all this time that she wanted to marry him for purely selfish reasons, but he had got it all wrong. She wasn't like him in that way. She cared about herself, but there were others that she cared about more. She had a gentle heart, that she had hidden well from him. Which, again, reminded him of Ayuzawa. It truly was odd, how many comparisons he kept finding between the two of them lately.

He shook his head, his smirk leaving his face as he met Renei's eyes with a serious, almost frustrated expression.

"You. You and her both, are far too selfless for this world."


	15. The Lark

A/N: Hi everyone! This chapter is dramatic~ so prepare yourselves! It also provides many answers to old questions, and poses new questions to wonder about :3 Oh and it took literally all day to write, and I don't wanna go back through and proofread it, so if you see any mistakes either ignore them or feel free to please report them to me.

I HAVE BEEN PLANNING FOR THIS CHAPTER FOR A LONG WHILE NOW SO I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

Sorry. I had a lot of Oreos before I posted this chapter. I don't know why I find it so logical to blame them for my sudden outburst but I just do. Man, I love Oreos...

 **Ka-tay's mind:** "it really does feel like Renei is a character that's canon- I can really imagine this happening outside of Seika" OH MY GOD. YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY FROM HAPPINESS. I LOVE YOU. "Their dynamic is as intense as ever" hahahahaha oh you have no idea ;) By the way, I absolutely adore your long and extremely thoughtful reviews. I ADORE THEM. Please keep it up because you are so in tune with this story on every level and it just makes me super impressed and happy and stuff ^_^

 **Sariko-chan723:** Thaaaaank yooouuu! *heart heart heart* :D

 **CMJ:** Oh I do appreciate criticism! Thanks for pointing those few mistakes out for me, I went back and corrected them right away :) As always, thank you for the compliments and please tell me what you think about the manga Dengeki Daisy

 **CColondam:** Interesting that you said that about Renei and Misaki... and what is also interesting is what you said about history repeating itself... And yes Renei does deserve happiness but she needs to be a little unhappy at times for the sake of the story. Too bad, so sad :( Oh and Sanyu hasn't really been told about Tora and Renei's engagement, but she doesn't really care either way whether he's single or promised to someone else. She's the type of person who just goes for what she wants, and she's interested in Tora, so even if he and Renei are engaged, she doesn't care about it much. She just does whatever the hell she wants because she has that sense of snooty entitlement about her.

 **Bailey webster:** Thank you, life is fantastic for me at the moment but also verrrry busy. I write a lot in my spare time though :) Thanks for being such a sweetheart and telling me there's no rush to update though. "I love it when characters just come, living vividly far beyond the words that make up their existence" Such words. Bring me such joy. Tears, they fall. From my eyes. Tears of joy. :')

 **Cassie Star:** Thanks very much! I did managed to update soon, you are welcome. ^_^

 **Anon:** Wahaha! You did not see that coming, did you? Yeah Renei lied. She does that sometimes.

 **Guest:** "I really like how you write Tora. And Renei too. Ooh, the way they banter" I know right? Their banter is like the best stuff to write. Super entertaining. Thank you, by the way :)

 **margecamins:** "I always find it amusing when they banter. Hahaha. Both won't back down easily." Yes, I too, find it amusing to read! Thank you, I will admit that it's a lot of fun writing the scenes where they go back and forth and forth and back again with their arguing

 **bimba603:** Gosh, thank you :) So many compliments, so many happy dances for me to dance!

 **iloveyourfanfic:** Thank you for the feedback but isn't that too predictable? I dunno. I probably will do it just for the drama ;)

 **YouKnowWho:** Oooo that's a very good thing to point out! I'm glad you like it so much, cuz I like writing it that way too ^_^

As always, thank you for the reviews!

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

The Lark

...

The real confusion flooding her gaze, different from the little act that she was putting on just seconds ago, was enough to make Tora realize that he had made a misstep by saying something he should have kept to himself.

"Her?" Renei inquired, her eyes narrowing in that way they did when she was searching for answers. And she looked determined to find them, too. "Who else are you talking about?"

Damn. Why did he have to go and say a thing like that, bring Misaki into the mix?

The realization had only just caught up to him, that a part of him still sought after her. Even though he should have backed off once Usui saved her from his advances, even though he should have decided it was no longer worth the trouble when she told him that she would continue to be the Student Council President at Seika High, refusing his offer to have her join Miyabigaoka, refusing _him_ ―why did he continue to think of her? All this time he still hadn't been clear about whether or not he had let her go yet, and now Nakajima was playing a big part in bringing old interests back into the forefront of his mind. She would say something, or act a certain way, and it would remind him of Seika's strong-willed President. The first woman to ever question him and successfully slip through his fingers. A person who, despite all the trouble that came with her, meant... _something_ to him.

And it would seem Renei was starting to mean something as well.

To compare the two was unfair, they were completely different people from separate backgrounds. But, since when did he care about the fairness of things? There was something about the both of them that he had taken a specific liking to. They both had fiery spirits, and gentle hearts. Tora couldn't help himself but to be drawn to that type of thing; he was admittedly curious, about how a person could be so good yet act so tough, be so fragile yet so strong. He had always thought that the purest people were the easiest to control. Kind hearts were weak hearts. But for whatever reason, that was not the case with either of these women.

It was frustrating in a way that was also exciting; a puppeteer hardly ever came across puppets that would actually pull back on their strings. Before Ayuzawa and now Renei as well, he had never been wrong about his first impressions of anyone, never been _proven_ wrong, repeatedly. But he was glad he had been wrong about them. Secretly, he had always yearned for a break in the monotony his life had taken on before he met the two of them.

These women... were really something else altogether.

So it went without saying that he didn't want either girl to know about the other. Technically, Renei already knew about Misaki, but time had passed since the photograph incident, and he hoped that by now she had forgotten about it. If they ever met each other, that could make a mess of things. He had plans that he didn't want either of them getting in the way of, and there was a possibility that they would work together, against him, if they felt threatened enough. And it might prove to be overwhelming, it might not, but he didn't want to take the chance to find out.

In any case, Tora reminded himself, he had to prioritize. It was the Walker boy that was of the most value to him, not Ayuzawa, and not Renei. Renei was the one he was trying to get away from, and he was going to use Takumi Usui to make that happen. But since it would take him a while to get his plan set into motion, and he was stuck with her for the time being... he may as well make the most of it and have his fun with her.

Even if she was annoyingly persistent about asking questions he'd rather avoid.

"Igarashi, who else are you referring to?"

He felt inclined to smirk. It was his favorite way to mask what he was thinking, and infuriate a person at the same time. "Your mother, of course. The two of you are not only similar in appearance."

"No." Renei immediately disregarded the notion. "I don't believe that's who you meant. The look that you had on your face when you said that... it said otherwise. There's someone else you were thinking about."

"And who else could I possibly mean?" He cocked an eyebrow, unaffected by her refusal to believe him. "I'm not asking you to agree with me, but your mother is more selfless than you think. Through her work, she has helped a lot of people reach their full potential."

"But what about the people closest to her? What about helping family?" Something in the depths of her eyes sparked. "That's what counts the most."

"Perhaps you should take the time to open up that half a brain of yours," He suggested in a mild tone, now raising both eyebrows as he peered at her. "And try considering the fact that your mother isn't the villain that you make her out to be."

"You don't know her," Renei's tone was certain, and a type of calm that only came through after you had become so angry that you surpassed rage entirely. "Like I know her." Her fists clenched tightly at her sides, a sign of holding back.

"And how would you even know her all that well? Seeing as you do everything you can to avoid her, I'd say your opinion of her is not entirely accurate―"

He was not nearly done with her, but the lazy drawl he spoke with as if _he just_ _couldn't be bothered to care, either way,_ made Renei crack sooner than expected. Her eyes were a hurricane of emotion, and less than a second later she cut him off; her voice breaking in the process. "Stop talking so casually about a situation that you know nothing about!"

Tora's eyes snapped to hers. "How hypocritical of you, Nakajima." There was a coolness to his voice now, somewhere between pure ice and boredom. "Considering you were lecturing me about my relationship with my parents just the other day."

Her mouth parted in a small 'o' shape, and Renei blinked. "That's different," She insisted, albeit slowly.

Yellow orbs narrowed. "I would love to know how."

"I... I don't blame my mother purely for the sake of blaming her, for the sake of making her know how much I loathe her. I blame her because I actually have the right to. You, on the other hand―"

"If you're that angry with her," He continued as if she hadn't said anything, not caring to tell her that he had more than enough right to go against his parents the way that he did. "Yelling at me about it won't do you any good."

She pulled away then, the look on her face saying that she had every intention of slapping him across the face. Every intention, but not enough reason to actually do it. "I know that, but..."

When a long pause followed, he rolled his eyes at her. "But?"

Renei tilted her chin up and regarded him with a cool gaze, folding her arms as if that would help contain her bubbling frustration. "I'm not going to discuss this with you. It's none of your concern."

"Oh, I'm not concerned. I couldn't care less about you, or the person you're trying to protect." Tora smiled, something sharp and vicious that made his eyes flash. "What I am curious about though, is what it has to do with you and I getting married. I'd just love to know the real reasoning you have behind it."

"And I want to know who you were referring to earlier, because it doesn't make any sense for it to be my mother." The curve of her own lips was something bittersweet. "But given how stubborn we can both be, I think neither of us are going to tell the other what they want to know."

"Ah." He breathed, "So you finally admit to being stubborn?"

May the heavens help her, Renei thought to herself as she was attacked by that itching urge to start throwing things. Specifically, at the blond's head. Her gaze fell flat, as did her voice. "That is so like you, Igarashi, to throw the most insignificant part of what I said back at me when you don't want to face the main topic."

"And that is so like you, Nakajima." He turned to leave. Sanyu was still waiting for him after all, though this time with Renei had been well worth the lecture about making her wait he was going to receive from the small half-Russian. "To accuse someone else when you're feeling threatened. Always lashing out when you're backed into a corner... You really are like a dog."

Her eyes glinted, and she moved to stop him from leaving, then paused as she thought better of it. _Let him go,_ her brain helpfully supplied, _it's not worth it._ But... "Just tell me who you were talking about. I doubt it's so important that you have to keep it a secret." Renei couldn't help it, she wanted to know the answer to that even more than before now, since he had made such a big show of covering it up with a lie.

"I already told you," Tora unlocked the door, but didn't open it just yet. With his back turned to her, he found it somehow easier to speak the lie. Her eyes were unnerving―beautiful―but sharp. Very, very sharp. "I was talking about you, and your mother. Now quit yapping about it, would you?" He tossed her a smirk over his shoulder, taunting, "We really should get you a muzzle."

"You know what your one true flaw is?" She was glaring at him now, the stubborn little chit, and he looked away. "You don't know how to trust anyone."

Tora almost laughed at the irony of that, and the fact that she wasn't even aware of it. "It's not that I don't know how, it's that I don't feel the need to." He finally pulled on the handle and stepped out, pausing in the doorway for just a moment. "...Especially with you. Just why should I trust a liar like you, Nakajima?"

The door glided shut behind him, and she didn't bother to follow him out for a long while afterward.

xx

With the party in full swing, it was easy to lose one's self in the crowds of people. Not that Renei minded getting swept up into different conversations and asked to dance―she would do almost anything in order to avoid both her mother and Tora.

But her luck could only go on for so long, and it was at the moment that she walked into a separate room off to the side that held a lounge bar, that it decided to run out.

"Renei, won't you sit down and have a drink with your mother?"

There the woman sat, near the end of the bar with her legs crossed one over the other and a glass of red wine in her hand. Some would say she looked flawless for someone her age who has given birth to four children, but all Renei saw in the woman was a whole bunch of glam, and not enough heart.

"Mother," As she sat down in the empty, plush seat next to her, she eyed the wineglass warily. "how many drinks have you had?"

"Enough to not be cross with you anymore." Miyuki gave her a wink, before downing the rest of her wine and pointing one of the bar tenders to the next bottle that she wanted to open.

Renei winced. She could recall, vaguely, that her mother didn't used to be like this. Her parents had once been in love; they were married young, stayed together for twenty years, and raised a family together in all that time. When the divorce happened, it came as a shock to the whole family. Renei was the youngest, in middle school at the time, and despite being as smart as she is she never understood how or why it happened. It was as if, one day out of the blue, her mother got tired of their family and decided to rid herself of them.

She had heard her parents arguing about it one day. Both of her parents had grown up in the city, her mother's family considerably less wealthy than her father's. Her mother wanted to go back and live there, and try to make something of herself. Apparently, she had secretly always wanted to be in the music business. Her passion for music had always been obvious in the way that she would push all of her children to learn to play different instruments, and go out to the store to buy the newest album by her favorite artists. But she had never mentioned anything about her dreams, music had always seemed to be just a hobby she entertained.

Renei knew that her father was determined to stay in the peaceful countryside, though. He was raised in the city, in a big stuffy house with too many rules to follow, and he never liked it there. Long story short, he wanted Miyuki to stay with him, and she didn't. Something about not getting to live her dreams when she was younger because they got married right away, had Masao, and her rich husband persuaded her to move out to the countryside and have three more kids.

So she left, and she took Masao with her. At the time, he had already been thinking about moving out to the city on his own, since he was interested in the world of business. And their father hadn't spiraled into the depths of depression yet, so Masao didn't see a problem with going with their mother.

After that, it wasn't really clear what happened. Masao would visit, without their mother, and mention things like how both she and him were attending school and learning a lot about the world of business. He looked more and more guilty during each visit, because their father was becoming more and more fragile and sickly. But he always went back to the city anyway. Renei didn't blame him for anything though, it was their mother that she blamed.

And then one day, somehow her mother's dream came true. Echo Entertainment was born, Miyuki built it up to be the outstanding company that it is today, and Masao was hired to work as one of the company's talent managers.

And just as everything was going perfectly for her mother, things started going south for her father. In short, he went bankrupt. The timing was far too convenient, and Renei had to wonder if her mother had something to do with it. Of course she didn't _want_ to believe it, their mother had never been a bad influence on them, she was an honest, strict woman with morals.

 _Or perhaps she had always been pretending_.

It's an interesting thing, greed. It brings out the worst in people. Money, and fame, it all brings out the worst in people. And sometimes, when a person wants something badly enough, they'll do just about anything to get it. It was as Kaon said: desperate people do desperate things. And her mother? She was the worst type of desperate person.

Desperate enough to leave her husband.

Desperate enough to steal from him.

Desperate enough to blackmail Renei into marrying someone purely for the benefits that came with it.

Just thinking about it shot a fresh line of hatred through her veins. Her mother couldn't get through to the twins, so she used Renei instead. Renei, who was young and vulnerable and well-meaning. She would call Renei, first boasting about her dating life, then suggesting that Renei get one of her own. The next step was suggesting different suitors, pushing them onto her, and finally, she insisted upon Renei coming to live out in the city. Why?

Because the Igarashis were some of the wealthiest people in Japan.

Because their family had once been very close with them, and they needed a way to reestablish those ties.

Because their only son was Renei's age, and his parents were looking for someone to set him up with.

And Renei had no other choice but to agree. The twins, even with their jobs, weren't making nearly enough money to keep the estate. They were going to lose the house soon, and their father along with it. That house was his life, his pride and joy, his security blanket. It was where he had lived for years raising his children and enjoying the simple life. They couldn't lose that house. They couldn't lose their father.

Her father wasn't aware of where the money had started coming from. Everyone knew but him. The twins would tell him that it came from their jobs, when it really came out of Miyuki's bank account. Sometimes Masao would help out too, but mostly Miyuki, because that was the deal Renei had made with her mother.

Renei had no intention of ever completely abandoning her father and the twins. She didn't want to leave, refused to leave in fact, without knowing that they would be taken care of. Of course, she didn't want to abandon them at all, but she had to leave them for the city, for her mother, for the money.

It was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make. For her father's sake, her family's sake, she would do anything. Her father was a good man; sentimental, loving, and protective. He didn't like the idea of her going to the city at all, let alone, to get engaged at her young age. But he didn't fight it much once he knew it was Tora she was supposed to be with. He trusted the Igarashis, although Renei couldn't fathom why.

Ahh, thinking about him hurt. She missed her father. Even though it broke her heart to be around him in the state he's in, it broke her heart just as much if not more to be away from him. She missed playing the piano for him, and occasionally, the violin. He was the one who taught her to play the violin, actually, since he had learned it at a young age (though, to his slight disappointment, she had always taken more to the piano). His favorite song to play on it was Ave Maria, it was the lullaby he played for her and her siblings when they were babies. Such a beautiful melody, and Renei had this habit of humming it aloud at night as she got herself ready for bed.

"What are you so smiley about?"

The voice of her mother brought her back from her reverie. Renei's smile slipped back into a firm line immediately. "Nothing." She looked down at the glass that had been placed in front of her, filled to the brim with a rich burgundy liquid. She sniffed it, and although it didn't smell bad, it didn't smell trustworthy either. "I don't drink, mother."

"Well, maybe not that much." Miyuki took the drink from her and sloppily poured half of it into her own wineglass. Then she gave it back to Renei. "There you go!"

Renei just about rolled her eyes, trying her very best to withhold from doing so. She had never had the displeasure of seeing her mother drunk before. It was... quite the site. "I just said, I don't drink. Really. I don't see the point behind it, and then there's the fact that I'm underage―"

"It's for fun of course." She elbowed her daughter and wriggled her eyebrows. "And nobody here cares. Come on sweetie, it won't hurt you. At least, this much of it won't. And you seem like you need to loosen up, so I insist."

A sigh escaped Renei then. How many other children could say that their parent had encouraged them to break the law 'for the fun of it'? "Mother―"

"I _insist_." Miyuki edged the wineglass directly under Renei's nose, and the smell assaulted her senses again. "It's just wine dear, and only half a glass at that. You'd have to have incredibly low tolerance for alcohol to get drunk from this."

xx

Turns out, half a glass was all it took to get Renei drunk. Not fifteen minutes later, everything around her seemed to have tilted slightly to the left, and her tongue was looser than it had ever been.

"I'm so different now..." She was in the middle of mumbling with her head in her arms, not wishing to look at anything for fear of it making her dizzy. "After you left... I thought my whole life, before those five years without you, was a big lie. I thought everything must be a lie then, and everyone. I stopped forming close relationships with people. I tried to forget our life before the divorce, because I thought you never loved us, that it was all a big trick. Because, when you love people, you don't abandon them. So yeah... I... I changed a lot. And it's, it's not all your fault, but it is. It is your fault. I want it to be all your fault. I wish you were to blame, not just for the state father's in, but for the state we're all in... Everything's... Different."

Her mother wasn't really listening, since she couldn't really hear her. All Miyuki did was pat her daughter on the head and talk over the top of her. "There there, my sweet child. You'll be alright. Mother's here. And she is sorry for this, but I mean, how was I supposed to know you were such a lightweight? You only had half a glass! And it was only wine! I really didn't think you'd get this way."

"It was a giant glass." Renei muttered, turning her head to the side to glare up at the woman. The lights spun overhead. Renei couldn't help the inner remark her brain made about them being oddly prettier than usual, much more distracting _.._. "Half of a giant glass―" She paused to swallow either a hiccup, or a burp. "―makes whole of a normal-sized glass. Gosh, have the lights in this room always been this sparkly?"

Before her mother could answer her, Rokuro strode up to them and took a seat on Miyuki's other side. The words "Hello darling" were supplied to Miyuki with a kiss on the cheek, and then he tossed Renei a concerned glance. "Is everything alright? Your daughter..."

"She just has too much alcohol in her, that's all." The woman giggled, more than a bit tipsy herself. "It's her first time drinking, and she just didn't know when to stop."

Renei grumbled something about lies under her breath, but again, it went unheard.

"Well, maybe we should take her home for the night? If she's not having a good time..." Rokuro, Renei decided right then and there, was far, far, far too good of a man for her mother to be with. Not as good of a man as her father, but still, he was a good man.

And she would have told him so, if her mother didn't speak up again.

"No, no that won't be necessary. I know exactly what will get her feeling better." Miyuki turned to her, poking her in the cheek and looking much too excited for Renei to think anything good of what she was about to propose. "Renei, why don't you play a piece on the piano for us? That piano over in the corner of the room has been calling out your name ever since you stepped foot in here!"

Unbelievable. Her mother wanted her to show off. At someone else's party. When she was drunk. "Mother, I don't know if I can play very well at the moment... The lights are very distracting..."

"Nonsense, you always play well. You played well when you were three, and you barely knew how to use your hands to hold a spoon back then."

She scowled at that. "I knew how to hold a spoon. I am the best at holding spoons."

Rokuro raised an eyebrow, and Miyuki let loose more giggles. "Oh sweetie, won't you do this? For me? Please?" The woman was staring at her expectantly, and Renei just blinked back slowly. Then the look turned hard, with an 'or else' written in it somewhere that said her mother wasn't really asking.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Renei managed to sit up straight again. She eyed the piano over in the corner of the room―it was a gorgeous grand piano, white in color and kept in mint condition―and she tried to keep her head from spinning and her heart from racing too fast. Her palms were clammy.

"Of course I will, mother." She responded with her fake smile set firmly into place.

xx

Rokuro shook his head in disbelief. "She seems a little too out of it to play, darling―"

Miyuki simply held up a hand to silence him. "Shh. She's about to start."

Somewhere between the time Renei had agreed to play the piano and the time she managed to cross the room and sit down at the piano, Tora and Sanyu had walked into the room as well. After being filled in on the current situation by Miyuki and Rokuro, Tora was sitting in a chair at a table near the bar with them, watching his fiancée with eyes full of glittering amusement. Sanyu had ordered drinks for them both, and quickly took her seat beside him, much to Miyuki's vexation.

Tora knew that Renei was skilled at many things, but he had yet to see proof of her talent (other than her talent of lying). He knew she did well in sports, but he'd never seen her play. He knew she was a good rider, but he'd never seen her on the back of a horse. He knew she was an excellent pianist and violinist, but he'd never heard her play either instrument. So he was rather curious; he had always wondered if all the talk about her was just that―talk.

However, he assumed she couldn't really prove herself properly when she was, apparently, drunk. If nothing else though, her inebriated state would just make this all the more entertaining.

"Tora-san," Miyuki was seated on his other side at the table. Her dark purple eyes were shining with pride and excitement, and her whole face glowed pink from the alcohol she had consumed. "I don't suppose you remember listening to Renei play when you were children? She used to show off for your family every once in a while when we visited."

He leaned back in his seat, relaxing as he waited for the show to start. Renei was still just sitting there at the piano, rolling her shoulders, tilting her head this way and that, taking it pretty seriously even though he was sure she was going to fail in her drunken state. "I seem to have forgotten. You must forgive my terrible memory." He decided to humor the older woman next to him with a curious glance and his next question, "Is she any good?"

Miyuki's smile looked secretive, sly, and it made him quirk an eyebrow. "You'll see. Just sit back and listen, dear."

As soon as she spoke the last word, the piano was suddenly brought to life.

Eight notes broke through the silence, each one played slowly and almost too quiet to hear. Tora set his eyes back on Renei, admittedly surprised when the music picked up after those first eight notes, creating a smooth and steady melody. Wasn't she supposed to be too drunk to play well?

Beside him, Sanyu's eyes lit up and she quickly grabbed hold of his arm. "Oh, I know this one." She whispered. "It's by a Russian composer, Mikhail Glinka. It's called 'L'alouette'."

"Mhm." Was the only response he bothered to provide her with, his attention solely directed for the person he now hardly recognized as Renei.

She sat at the grand piano, her lithe fingers dancing over the ivory keys almost without her notice. Her mind was in the music, her face twitching with each note, her eyes fluttering. At first, she sat with her back perfectly straight, but once the melody began to evolve into something more and more, blooming into something that carried her away on waves, her entire body moved with it. Her back curved with each low note, her head raised with each high one. Her arms were constantly moving, almost as if they were instruments themselves, and her hands flew across the keys. Her heart soared along with them. She was as dizzy as ever, but, the music was right there to steady her.

People interpret music in different ways. To her, this song represented struggle. The need to break free and fly away. Some might call it peaceful, and it was, but there were moments in the piece where you could imagine that the peace has been broken. And then the struggle starts, the struggle to regain the peace back once more, to regain freedom.

There is a children's song called 'Alouette' about plucking the feathers from a lark, in retribution for the lark's song waking everyone up in the morning. Renei had never found that very fair, and when she played this piano piece, 'The Lark', it made her want to express that unfairness.

Birds were meant to be free. They were meant to live in peace and sing their songs. To punish them for that and take away their freedom to fly by plucking their feathers, that was cruelty. And she found she could relate to the lark in some way.

When she played this song, she felt wings at her back. She felt her mother plucking them. She felt herself frantically flapping, struggling to stay airborne. She saw the cage ready to catch and trap her when she fell.

Her face contorted again as her fingers fiddled quickly with the keys, creating a sound like a bird taking flight. Her back straightened, and she threw her head back, as if she herself were preparing to take flight. The notes settled down, her hands slowed, and she lowered her head again. Her body stilled, save for her arms, which moved this way and that, following her hands. Everything was gliding into silence now. The bird had managed to break free and fly away. A tranquil feeling flooded through her making her feel lighter than air, and unconsciously, she smiled.

She didn't realize she was done playing until the silence after the last note was cracked by heavy applause.

Indigo eyes snapped open, and Renei's senses were assaulted with bright lights and colors and sounds. She had forgotten where she was, until she turned slowly and gazed out at the sea of people who had congregated in the room. A few of the faces she recognized where her mother, Rokuro, and Mr. and Mrs. Igarashi. Then she saw Sanyu, and next to her was Tora...

Tora's eyes were wide with astonishment by the end of the piece. No one spoke, and everyone was clapping except for him. Even Sanyu was kept in a sort of silent awe as she applauded the performance. But all he did was continue to stare at Renei, watching her turn away from the piano with an expression on her face like someone who had just woken up from a dream. Her cheeks were warm and her eyes had a far-away look in them she was trying to blink away. There was a ghost of a smile on her face, fading quickly, which he recognized as the very smile that she used to show all of the time when they were kids. That carefree, happy, annoyingly bright grin. The smile that _shined_.

Faintly, a voice which he was surprised to find was his own, whispered to his mind that she was more beautiful than she had ever been when she smiled like that. He was quick to dispel the thought.

The smile disappeared altogether once Renei stood from the bench. She took a moment to steady herself, seeming dizzy, and half-awkwardly-half-gracefully took her bow. The clapping began to die down, and when she looked back up, Tora caught her eye with only half a smirk; because if he had let it spread any further, it would have been a smile.

Unnoticed by both Tora and Renei, Miyuki was looking between the two of them, her lips spread into a gleeful grin.

xx

"It was... interesting."

The comment was made by Tora, once everyone (Tora and his parents, Renei and her mother) were seated at that same table from before in the lounge bar area. Rokuro, persuaded by Miyuki, had taken Sanyu out of the room for a dance in an effort to exclude her from the group.

"It was certainly more than just that." Aya insisted, shooting her son a pointed glare before reaching over the table and grasping one of Renei's hands―which were still clammy, so the blond woman quickly pulled her hand back. "You were like a true Mozart up there."

"Are you planning on applying to Tokyo University of the Arts?" Tomio Igarashi asked in his great booming voice, resting his elbows on the table and collecting his fingers together to place his chin atop his hands.

TUA was a college in Tokyo with numerous arts programs to choose from, however their department of music was one of the top in the country. The others included Musashino Academia Musicae, Shōwa Academia Musicae, and Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Renei knew this because both her father and mother had looked into it for her several times.

She was still unsure which one she liked most, and in the meantime, she would rather focus on finishing school at Miyabigaoka first. And of course, her engagement to Tora. She really hadn't thought about her future with music in a long time, being too preoccupied with her current set of goals. Her family's well-being came first, after all.

"When the time comes, I'll―" She was cut off by Miyuki.

"She doesn't need to attend University. With raw talent like that, my company could take her in and we'd be spitting out the best selling classical albums each year!"

"With all due respect mother," Renei cut back in, not nearly as smoothly as she had hoped to given the slight slur to her words. "I refuse to ride your coattails in order to achieve the things I want in life."

"A hard worker, I see." Tomio sounded a mixture of impressed and amused. An odd combination.

"I wouldn't call it riding coattails, I would rather think of it as... taking advantage of the resources you've been provided with." Miyuki insisted, but Renei was getting sick of her mother insisting things.

"I would rather take advantage of a good education."

"I don't think it would be a bad idea to skip all of that and get straight to the money making part of things." Aya expressed, which earned an eager response from Miyuki.

"Absolutely. Who wants to waste time locked up in a school when they have the easier option of joining with a company like mine?" She tilted her head up with a smile, one finger circling around the rim of her drink, then tapping against it, and circling it again. "Let's see... I could have the contract ready by tomorrow―"

"There will be no need for a contract." Renei grumbled tiredly.

"What was that, darling?"

"I said," She grabbed her mother's hand to keep it from dancing around the wineglass anymore, since the action was distracting and dizzying, and met her mother's gaze with a darkly annoyed look. "There will be no need for a contract. Not with _your_ company."

Miyuki's eyes widened briefly, before narrowing down to slits. She then raised both eyebrows, as if she were daring her daughter to defy her.

Through the red fog in her mind, Renei registered that look and immediately let go of her mother's hand. "I mean," She cleared her throat, trying to stay determined, even when she had just so obviously stepped out of line. "I do want a full education first, before getting involved with the music business. And ultimately, the decision is mine to make." She stated that last part firmly; perhaps a bit too firmly, given the tension that fell over the table the moment she had said it.

Tora set his glass down loud enough so that all of the attention was brought over to him, and he seemed to feel no problem with speaking through the tension. "I would have to agree with Renei-san on that. While I am sure her mother means well," He nodded to Miyuki with a sincere smile on his face. "The choice between working with Echo Entertainment or attending University... should be her daughter's to make. It is her life, after all."

His parents issued him a look that clearly told him to keep his opinions to himself, and Renei tilted her head closer to him and muttered a confused, "Igarashi, what are you doing?"

Tora ignored all three of them, his attention set firmly on Miyuki. "Sanyu-san mentioned to me earlier that she'll be attending a private University here in Japan, if her family decides to stay here long enough. And she does have this awful habit of flirting with me, so when she asked me if I thought it was a good idea, I told her the truth." He glanced over to Renei at just the right moment, cocked an eyebrow to show interest, and grinned in the most charming of ways. "I like a woman who's smart enough to keep up with me, and willing to work for what she wants in life."

Renei had the grace to blush profusely as she met his gaze, looking more uncomfortable than flattered or thankful. Her eyes were shinier than usual, he noted, probably from the wine, and they were big and almost childlike; innocently baffled to the extent that it amused him. Tora checked a smirk before switching his gaze back over to her mother. "I admire Renei for how passionate she is about her education. Don't you, Ms. Sekine?"

"I..." Purple eyes skittered back and forth between the two teenagers for a few moments, and she appeared to be thinking about several things at once. Then she gave a wobbly, half-attempt at a smile. "Yes. It is very... I find it... that is, education, of course, is important..."

"Mother." Once Renei could tear her eyes away from Tora, they narrowed and locked onto her mother. As she spoke, her tone was drier than she had intended, her mouth completely betraying her mind which was screaming for her to just keep quiet and let everything be. "Which do you dislike more? The idea of me attending University, or the idea that if I did do so, it would be going against what _you_ want."

No one at that table missed the glare that Miyuki provided her daughter with. "Does your disrespect," There was no other way to describe her voice but cold and disapproving. "Know no limits? How _dare_ you speak to your own mother in such a fashion! I cannot believe what I've heard from you tonight, usually you're so well behaved. I suppose it's the alcohol." She shook her head, leaning back in her chair with folded arms. "Well, I obviously expect an apology, but the Igarashis deserve one as well. Apologize for your behavior, Renei, right this instant."

Renei literally had to bite her tongue to hold back several sour comments. Impulsively, she stood up―and even though she wished to pick up the nearest glass of wine and throw it on her mother, she didn't. But it did take an immense amount of self control to not do so. "Forgive me," She spoke up in a stiffly polite manner, over-pronouncing every word. "I am not in my right mind at the moment. It would seem I've had too much to drink." Spinning on her heel (and nearly falling over due to a sudden dizzy spell) she walked out of the room in search of some fresh air.

A stunned silence replaced her presence. The adults looked after the disappearing figure of Renei with eyes that held all sorts of emotions; for the Igarashis it was mostly disbelief, and for Renei's mother it was mostly anger. Since he was left behind with their parents and wanted nothing more than an excuse to leave the table as well, Tora raised his glass into the air and stated with thinly-veiled sarcasm, "Here's to you, mother. Happy birthday."

Aya's head snapped in his direction, her stormy eyes narrowed in a way that expressed: _don't you dare start disrespecting everyone too_. "Go after her, Tora. She is obviously not feeling like her usual self."

He calmly set down his glass and rose from his seat. "I think she's feeling more like herself than ever, actually." His voice was smooth and silken, his gaze leveling on his parents in a cool, almost lazy fashion.

" _Go_." They said in unison, his mother even pointing toward the exit, as if he didn't already know where it was.

He didn't bother to hide his smirk from them as he left the table.

xx

"That performance on the piano was really something else, Nakajima."

Renei hadn't thought that anyone would follow her out the back door and into the gardens, but apparently, someone had. Right now she was sitting on a bench in a semi-circle of hedges, staring at a magnificent bush of roses at the center of the circle. With her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, she was trying to make herself stop feeling dizzy and like she wanted to retch, and she didn't bother to look up when she heard whose voice it was. In fact, if she didn't say anything, she was really hoping he would just go away.

Instead, he sat down next to her on the bench.

"Leave me alone, Izaki." She murmured, feeling too many types of exhausted to deal with him right now. He was only going to pester her, as usual.

"What? I was complimenting you, you know." He nudged her. "Don't you know what a compliment is? I was being _nice_."

"Okay, sure. Thank you." She peered at him through the strands of her hair. By now it had lost most of its curl, and was falling around her in soft waves. "Why are you here?"

"Igarashi invited me, idiot." He snapped, sweeping the bangs out of his face in exactly the way that irritated her. "And I had to get away from the Elite for a while. Kaon's annoying as all hell." He raised his voice to a higher register, starting to mimic the other girl. "'I can't put Edward down for a dance, he'll get dirty or someone might snatch him up! He was a gift from my mother, she made him just for me, didn't you know? And anyway, why would I want to dance with you? You're so short. I can't dance with someone so short! How are you supposed to twirl me around? You'll only end up making me look bad in front of all these people!'"

"Your impression of her is truly astounding." Renei cut in disinterestedly.

"She never knows when to shut up, the little chit." He scowled, then tossed her a curious glance. "Anyway, why'd you come out here?"

"It feels nice out here. It's quiet. Or at least it was, until you came along."

Izaki laughed sharply at that. "Well jeez, woman. No need to be so grumpy. You know there's a party going on inside, right? Something that's actually _fun_ , and you're moping around out here ignoring it? Talk about antisocial." He nudged her again, this time a bit more forcefully. "Come and dance with me. You'll perk right up, and I want to rub it in Umekoji's face how good of a dancer I am."

"I can't dance right now. I can hardly walk in a straight line." When he looked like he was about to protest, she quickly explained herself better. "I'm a drunken mess at the moment, and if you tell anyone about this, I _will_ get you kicked out of the Student Council _and_ the Judo Club."

His eyes went wide with shock. "You're kidding. How can you be drunk? You played the piano just fine!"

She winced. "I'm _drunk_ , not _deaf_ , mind you."

Producing his famously shit-eating grin, Izaki nudged her again―an action that was really beginning to get on her nerves. "If you're so drunk, then how did you play so well?"

"I don't know." Renei shrugged the little bit that she could in her hunched state. "The music carries me with it. It leads, I follow. Kind of like dancing. And I'm not entirely sure how it works, but all I had to do was listen to the sound of the piano while my hands did everything on their own. I didn't even have to look, I had my eyes closed for most of it."

"What? Hey, that's actually pretty impressive. I mean, considering that it's _you_ we're talking about here." He snickered.

"Yes." She rolled her eyes, "Now go away please." And scooted to the furthest side of the bench. Why he was even talking to her was beyond her, unless he purposely sought her out just to annoy her. Which seemed like a thing he would do, actually, when she thought about it.

"But I still wanna dance with you." Izaki followed and leaned in next to Renei, grabbing a lock of her hair and twisting it around his finger while a cheeky smile ate away at his face. "You know, I gotta say, you look like some sort of masterpiece tonight. I was really surprised, the Elite sure did a number on you. And I was right about your hair looking better down."

"Izaki." Renei sat up straight and grabbed his wrist. He dropped her lock of hair. "Leave me alone. I don't want to deal with you right now. Or dance." Her eyes sparkled harshly in the moonlight, and half of her face was kept in shadow from where her hair covered it.

Izaki was silent as he watched her for a few seconds. "...Fine." He roughly pulled his hand out of her grasp, keeping eye contact with her the whole time; his normally slate blue eyes almost a steely silver in the light of the moon. "If you won't dance with me... that's fine. How about a kiss instead?"

Her brow furrowed at the question. "I beg your pardon?"

He stood up then. Given their major height difference, that put him face-to-face with Renei while she was sitting down. "You're a real idiot, you know that? _I wanna kiss you_." One hand slammed down on the bench beside her shoulder. "Sometimes even at school, I wanna kiss you. And more than just that." His other hand, quick as a flash, reached out and grabbed a hold of her chin, lifting it just a tad so that he could inspect her. "You're Tora's fiancée, but... Damn, I don't care. He doesn't even want you anyway, so it's fine if I have a go at you, right?"

Renei's eyes widened at those words, her head jerking back. "What are yo―"

Her mouth clipped shut, teeth clattering together as he forced her all the way back against the bench and climbed on top of her. Surprisingly, he weighed more than she expected. His strength also surprised her, even though it shouldn't have, since she knew he was second best on the judo club. What he lacked in height, he made up for in muscle.

"Are you stupid, or just naive? Because I've had my eye on you for a while now." Izaki pulled her arms over her head with one hand, and traced his free hand down her side. "I cover it up, I guess, by trying to bother you all the time. But have you really never caught me staring before?"

"I'm usually absorbed in my work." Renei tried to move her hands out of his grasp, but he had them pinned up against the top of the bench, clenched in his one hand. Just one hand, really... Either he was ridiculously strong or she was at a disadvantage because of the wine she had earlier. It was probably both, and suddenly, her chances of getting out of this weren't looking too good to her. "Look, Izaki," Her nerves, uncontrolled by her, showed through in her voice. "Do you really think this is the best way to show me that you have some sort of interest in me? By forcing yourself on me like this?"

He grinned, and ran his hand up to cup her chin again. "I thought you liked games like this, Nakajima? You know I never quite believed that you and the President haven't slept together. I bet Igarashi is forcing you to do special favors for him all the time. Kaon is always gossiping about the sexual tension between you and him. He might not want to marry you, but he wouldn't just ignore how attractive you are, it's not like him to let a good lay go to waste. Also," His thumb brushed down on her lips, and he slowly began to lean in. "I find it more fun to steal a kiss than to ask for one anyway..."

There was no persuading him, so she bared her teeth and settled for threats instead. "Any closer and I swear to god you'll have a bloody lip, and then some."

Izaki snorted. "Like that'll stop me. I've suffered my fair share of injuries from judo." Leaning in, he brushed his lips up against her ear and whispered. "You could say that I'm so used to it, I've learned to _like_ it rough."

Indigo eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she tried to kick out, buck him off of her, whatever she could do in her current state. But everything spun in dizzying circles, and her head and stomach felt like they were both flip-flopping all over the place. Every time Renei moved, Izaki pinned her somehow, and when she kept jerking her head back in a last desperate attempt to keep his lips off of her, he used his free hand to pull on her hair and tilt her head back.

"Haven't I..." Her voice was breathy after all of the wriggling around, trying to break away. "...told you before... never... to touch me anywhere without my permission?" Renei had reached a whole new level of furious at this point. She tried to headbutt him, and he just yanked harder on her hair, causing her to yap in pain.

"That only made me want to have you more." His eyes had that evil glint in them that appeared every so often. Her blood boiled at the sight, and she felt disgusted at the thought of this little weasel trying to take advantage of her, so she tried one more time to get her hands free. It was a waste of energy she didn't have, though, and only resulted in him laughing at her and beginning to lean in again. "Forget it. You might be kinda strong for a girl, under normal circumstances, but I know judo. You're too out of it to actually put up a good fight... Just hold still..."

"Kyohei."

That familiar drawl was the one thing keeping their lips apart in the next second.

Both of them turned their heads at the same time, and both of them looked equally shocked to see that Tora was standing there, in the opening between two hedges, both hands resting in the pockets of his slacks and a blank expression on his face.

The whole scene came crashing to a halt and Izaki froze awkwardly in his position over Renei. "Uh... President?"

One golden eyebrow arched elegantly, his eyes completely unreadable. "Do I need to get the two of you a room?"

Renei frowned at his nonchalant attitude. What a time for him to be acting like that! "Are you going to help me out here Igarashi, or not?"

"That bench is a bit... Out in the open." Tora continued as if she wasn't even there, as if it was _no big deal_ that she was pinned underneath the lecherous Student Council Historian. "If I could make a suggestion, there's plenty of empty rooms in the manor. I had Sanyu in one of them earlier this evening."

" _Igarashi_." Renei sent him her most frustrated of glares, and for a split second, she saw his lips twitch in the first sign of emotion from him. And it was the kind of twitch, quirked ever-so-slightly upward, that could be associated with his famous smirk. He was amused, and smug about the fact that he was the only one who could get her out of this... predicament. And suddenly, she knew exactly what he wanted to hear from her that would get him to do just that. "...Please." She barely said it loud enough for even herself to hear, but he caught it somehow.

"Or," The blond shrugged, as if he had just thought of this. "I suggest that you kindly remove yourself from _my fiancée_ , if you'll recall, before I personally take it upon myself to separate the two of you."

Izaki hopped off of Renei quicker than lightning, holding his hands in the air in a sign of innocent surrender. It was fast enough to make both Tora and Renei blink in surprise at the action. "I didn't mean anything by it, well I mean, I didn't think it would bother you, you know?" He rolled his eyes. "You don't even want her around half of the time, and she's such a tempting piece of a―"

Renei punched him.

Tora could easily say it was one of the most surprising and hilarious things he'd ever witnessed―the usually prim and proper Student Council Secretary, all done up in a pretty evening gown and a made-up face, with her dark hair falling down everywhere around her, skin flushed, chest heaving, and body swaying as she struggled to remain steady on her feet―hitting Kyohei Izaki square in the jaw with one lucky swing of her fist. The boy's head seemed to spin almost all the way around before he hit the grass with a loud 'thud'.

Disoriented and trying to catch her breath, Renei couldn't be bothered to acknowledge the laughter in the background she was sure was Tora's. Instead, she focused all her energy on standing upright, without tumbling over onto the boy who assaulted her. He groaned something that sounded like 'bitch' into the grass, and seeing that he hadn't been knocked out, she stepped on his back with the edge of her heel so that he wouldn't get up.

"Never mind how tempting I am, Izaki. I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." Her words were like drops of hellfire raining down on him, they were so heated and merciless, spitting past her lips. Her body had a fine tremor running through it. Something in her, she was vaguely aware of, had snapped; it hadn't taken much, given all the stress she'd had to endure tonight, and the fact that her careful sense of self-control had already been loosened from the alcohol. "You're lucky if I don't report you to the Headmaster and get you expelled from school for assaulting a fellow student―"

"Get up, Kyohei." Tora, finished with his little laughing fit off to the side, appeared in the empty space next to Renei. And for once, as odd as it may seem for her to admit, his close presence put her at ease more than it set her on edge. "Go put some ice on that. The members of the Student Council aren't supposed to look like delinquents with bruised faces."

Silently, Renei stepped off of the shorter boy and allowed him to stand back up. She realized then that she didn't care enough to keep yelling at him, especially with the way her head was still throbbing―she just wanted him out of her sight. He glanced between her and Tora as he got up, looking all sorts of pitiful as he nursed his aching jaw, and then he turned right around and quickly sped away, cursing profusely as he went.

"Does your hand hurt?"

Startled by the sudden question placed directly behind her ear, Renei wobbled backwards, only for Tora to reach an arm around her waist and catch her before she fell. When she turned her head his way, she saw wicked laughter in his eyes, and a smirk playing around his lips that said he was enjoying himself far too much. She quickly removed herself from him and stumbled a good three steps in the other direction. Forget what she thought about his presence putting her at ease.

"What? You'll say 'please', but there's no 'thank you' for me?" He cocked an eyebrow, chuckling all over again and shaking his head when she glared at him. "What an ungrateful woman you are."

"Shut up." His eyes widened at that, and Renei didn't understand why he would react that way until she realized she'd spoken the words with more vehemence than she had meant to. She spared a moment to collect herself, taking a deep breath in and sighing before speaking again. "What I mean is... What just happened... How did you know I was here?"

"My parents sent me after you, after your little episode at the table." His smirk finally appeared all the way when she scowled at the mention of what happened at the table. "I would have been here sooner to take full advantage of your vulnerable state..." Her scowl deepened while his eyes glided over her figure, pausing in certain places―her disheveled hair, the neckline of her dress, and anywhere the silken fabric clung to her tall, curvy form. "...It's unfortunate that Izaki managed to get to you first. If only those guests hadn't pulled me aside for a chat." His gaze landed on the way she was cradling her right hand in her left, and his eyes narrowed. "How badly does your hand hurt?"

"I never said it hurt." She shot back defensively, recoiling a bit as he began to approach.

Tora drew closer until he was stopped directly in front of Renei. He could practically feel the nervousness that surrounded her, and they were the same height with her heels on, so he met her gaze evenly and chose his words carefully; all the while pondering if she might scamper off like some injured rabbit. "After a punch like that, I know that there must be something wrong with your hand. Let me see it."

She seemed to be purposely holding her hand away from him now. "How could you possibly know a thing like that?"

"There is such a thing as proper and improper punching techniques. You just demonstrated the improper form."

"What?"

"You threw the punch wrong. It's as simple as that." He was starting to get irritated.

"How?"

"From what I saw, the force occurred at an angle toward the palm. And if you hit his face hard enough, it could have caused a fracture in one of your bones."

"Why?"

"Because the bone was bent too far in the wrong direction. Let me see your hand." He grit out the last part, glaring at the wide-eyed expression on her face. She was starting to remind him of that annoying little girl that she used to be, always asking questions and getting on his last nerve without even meaning to.

"No, I... I meant why are you helping me?"

Renei wasn't quite sure what sort of answer she was expecting, but his face went blank at the question. There was a pause where Tora seemed at a loss for words, thinking to himself, and she waited patiently; all the while wishing that she knew what was going on inside of his head.

After a few more seconds, he just brushed it off with a shrug, appearing suddenly neutral. "I could care less if you injure yourself from doing something stupid like punching someone in the face when you don't know the correct way to do it. But your mother is going to throw a fit if you've hurt one of your precious hands. Imagine how she'll complain if she finds out you're unable to play the piano." He rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Nobody wants to hear that."

Renei didn't fully believe him, but she also didn't want to deal with the fact that he might actually be capable of being a nice person every once in a while. It was weird to have to think about, after all the horrible incidents he had put her through. And she was still drunk, so thinking was already hard enough as it was.

"Are you going to let me see your hand or not?" He sounded almost angry about it now, as if he regretted saving her from Izaki, and bothering to wonder if she was hurt.

Sighing, she turned away from him in a move that honestly surprised him―though Renei missed the shocked expression that briefly flickered over his face. "No, Igarashi, I'll take care of it on my own. I called my driver after I left the table earlier, and he should be here by now." She started to walk away, and felt an odd mixture of grateful and disappointed when he didn't make any sort of move to stop her. Before she was completely out of earshot, she decided to say one last thing to him, since he kind of _did_ deserve it. "...Thank you."

It was so quiet, she half-hoped he might not have heard it.

But he did.


	16. If Caring Is a Crime

A/N: Long chapter ahead. Quite the adventure for me to have to write it. I feel like _a lot_ goes on between the different POVs. Much of the plot is covered here, so you will have much to think about. Oh and Misaki and Usui are in this one!

Hopefully not only those two but also the other new character that I introduce doesn't seem OOC. I used the internet as a reference since I haven't read more than a few pages here and there of the manga. Fingers crossed that everyone is portrayed as they should be!

Feedback is always appreciated here! ~ CK:*

 **Selene:** THANKS MUCH! VERY VERY MUCH!

 **margecamins:** The fact that you read the piano part thrice made me super happy because I loved writing that bit. Music is a beautiful thing, and when you watch someone play an instrument or sing, I swear it's like magic, which is what I wanted to try to interpret in my writing about it. And yes, Miyuki is pretty un-likeable. Your evil sense of humor amuses me hehe. And I suppose Tora did deserve the thank you, even if he didn't know why he helped her out in the first place. It was more of an impulse decision at the time that it happened. But surely there's good in him, even though he is a manipulative liar and pervert? :3

 **Cassie Star:** Thanks for the love and the steady flow of reviews :)

 **Megane no Ohime-sama:** Yayyy! That's good to hear

 **bimba603:** This chapter is also long, and I also hope you enjoy it just as thoroughly!

 **CColondam:** Yeah, you basically called it as it is. I really felt the need to express some of Renei's talent that I'm always talking about in the story, and then Tora... yeah he's just himself.

 **hm813:** Thank you and you're welcome and HELLO FELLOW MUSIC GEEK! Your review was so thoughtful, I rather enjoyed reading it through.

 **CMJ:** I have messages from the characters for you. Miyuki says that you need a few heavy drinks and a good lay in order to calm down. Izaki says that if you're offering, he'll put his hands on you instead. Tora says that caring isn't the word he would use for it. And Renei says thank you for your concern, even though it isn't needed. Me, the author, also says thank you to you for reviewing ^_^

 **Ka-tay's mind:** You are a ray of brilliant sunshine and your reviews are like a platter of cupcakes just sitting there for me to enjoy. I wouldn't say Tora is scared, per se, of Misaki and Renei 'ganging up on him'. He's just being cautious, since they do tend to both give him a run for his money. So he's not scared, but rather, smart. And yeah, that definitely means he is acknowledging them, which is what I call PROGRESS! Your second paragraph, talking about how far Renei and Tora have come since the beginning of the story, is so spot on that I don't even feel the need to offer up any sort of reply to it. You are following this story line like it's your own story, just, wow. Actually, you know what, I can't even reply to your entire review this time around. It was perfection. I feel too intimidated to speak. You are amazing. And I'm so glad that this story speaks to you so powerfully, and so super duper happy that you love it so much, and thank you a billion times over for the constant reviewing that you do!

 **Anon:** No, no, nononononono NO! No first kiss yet! Don't even mention it! I have that part planned out to perfection (I think) but it's not coming until later on so shhhh! Hahaha but seriously. You're gonna flip when it actually happens. (I think)

 **Bailey webster:** I really hope school doesn't actually end up murdering you. You're welcome for the chapter, and you really should be thanking Tora for saving Renei from the creeper ;)

 **AJPJweallluvJJ:** Lol yeah but don't you LOVE IT?!

 **YouKnowWho:** All will be revealed! You won't have to wait any longer now

 **slypkc:** Thanks for the love! I'm glad you love my character pairing :)

 **Guest(s):** I was grinning when Renei punched Izaki too, and we shall find out if Tora has the ability to get jealous or not. I keep seeing all of these comments of 'I can't wait to see what happens next!' and it gives me such a surge of feel-good-y-ness. Hahaha. I'm really happy. Everyone also keeps providing positive commentary about the Tora and Renei scenes, so I think I know by now that the majority of people are going with the Renora pairing...

* * *

"No more, I've taken shit before

But I am older now, a little wiser now

No lies, if caring is a crime then I'm a criminal

and my mind is a cell."

― Lower Than Atlantis, _Criminal_

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

If Caring Is a Crime (then I'm a criminal)

...

Renei woke up in her brother's bed with tissues littering the comforter. She hadn't even taken off her dress from the night before, and what was leftover of her make-up stained the stark white of one of her brother's pillows.

She turned her head into the pillow again, inhaling deeply. Through the scent of cosmetics and sweat, she could smell Masao, and that is exactly why she had gone to his room and not her own. She had needed something familiar and safe to ground her after the events of last night.

After letting out a short breath, she paused before taking a deep breath in again, savoring each slow inhale and exhale against the scented pillowcase. Masao's cologne had the tendency to mix with the smell of his laundry detergent, and the result was a fresh, clean, subtly spicy scent that lingered pleasantly in her nose. It was similar to how her father always smelled, except her father used to spend enough time outdoors that the scent of the flowers and grasses had started to stick to him as well.

She missed them both very much, and the twins as well. She wished she could go back to her childhood, before the divorce happened, but that was long lost.

Nostalgia hit her hard and Renei abruptly rose from the bed. The sudden lurching in her stomach might not have been 100% caused by the sickening homesick feeling, since she could taste alcohol on her tongue still. For a moment she sat still, worried as to whether or not she might throw up. When the dizzy spell passed, and her stomach settled, she was relieved to stand up on her feet without falling over and went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Flashbacks invaded her mind as she stood in front of the mirror with flat hair, mascara smeared around her eyes, and a wrinkled dress clinging to her sweaty skin.

Tora in a suit. Her mother's glare. Crowds of people, a glass of wine, a grand piano...

She reached for her toothbrush, and the pain in her hand suddenly registered when she attempted to grab it. She looked down, eyes widening at the sight of splotchy, purplish-grey bruises that had appeared on the knuckles connecting to her ring and pinky fingers, the middle knuckle itself also looking a raw shade of red. Something obviously wasn't right with it.

Another flashback hit her; there was the feeling of being pressed down, completely helpless, and her fist connecting hard with someone's face.

And then there was Igarashi, acting concerned even as he was secretly laughing at her.

Renei leaned back against the bathroom wall and held her head with her good hand, staring blankly at her frazzled reflection in the mirror.

xx

Tora let out a contented sigh as he stood in his closet, dressing himself. He smelled like sex and strong perfume, and his limbs were a bit tired after so many hours of... exerting himself. But he didn't have the time to shower before getting on with his busy day, so he would just have to get dressed into something clean, spray on some cologne, and call it good.

Once fully dressed, he began to move into the next room but paused as he was walking past the full-length mirror. Staring for a moment at his reflection, he couldn't help the slight smirk that swept across his face. Sanyu had done a number on his hair, it was sticking up in all sorts of directions. The very thought of her hands running through it reminded him of her passionate cries, and his smirk only grew as a certain smugness took hold of him. He grabbed a comb and started to correct the blond locks, thinking back on last night... and letting his mind wander past the bits with Sanyu and land on Renei.

His combing paused and the face of his reflection furrowed its brow. He wasn't worried about her getting home safely, he told himself. And it didn't matter to him if her hand really _was_ hurt or not. The way he saw it, neither of those things were any of his business anyway.

He didn't _care_.

Even though it did bother him when he saw her breathless and pinned underneath Izaki, he wasn't bothered because it was _her_. He was bothered because it was _his_ fiancée that _someone else_ was making a move on.

She was labeled as his, and even if he wasn't going to do anything with her, the fact that someone else was trying to take what was not free game was just... annoying.

He didn't care about Renei ― but he did give a damn about whether or not he was being shown _respect_. And the lack of respect that Izaki had displayed by trying to have a go at her without his permission, was not such a thing that would be tolerated.

Actually caring about what happened to Renei and being exasperated by the fact that someone was, in a way, threatening him by trying to steal what was his, were two very separate matters. Tora was not the type to attach importance to or concern himself with things like caring about the well-being of another person. He only cared about himself, and his interests. It was of no consequence to him if Renei was being given a hard time by other people. But his sense of ownership was strong, and his pride was rather immense, and if anyone was going to push certain boundaries and have a go at her, it would be him and not Izaki or anyone else. He wasn't going to just allow any other man to make advances toward _his_ fiancée; he had to assert himself.

People could argue all they want about how he doesn't even want a fiancée to begin with. But what is his, is not anyone else's. No one else was going to be allowed to tamper with his toys, to touch what has his mark of ownership on it. He was like a selfish child that way; never in all his years had he thought very highly of the idea of 'sharing'.

Tora finished combing back his hair, moving to straighten his bangs and staring at his face all the while. Golden eyes that gave nothing away stared back at him, and his features were practiced into such a relaxed look that it was impossible to tell anything from it. He knew himself all the way through to his core, but even so, it often felt as though it was a stranger looking back at him in the mirror. His outward appearance bore no resemblance to his true identity.

Much like Renei, he mused with a quirk of his lips.

At the party, he had not been expecting things to unfold so effortlessly before his eyes. He hadn't even had to do an ounce of probing or teasing ― Renei, all on her own, had let her practiced persona fade, her perfect mask slip; she revealed far too much of her true self all at once. And he had to say, it was quite the fetching display.

He had witnessed a whole new level of honest reactions from her. The way she lost control was beautiful and tempting and dangerous, like a storm. He had seen her like that before, he supposed, in small doses. But their constant arguments with one another were nothing compared to what she had displayed last night in front of both himself and other people as well. Her guard had fallen, had practically been eradicated in just one night. When she had talked back to her mother, the way she played the piano, the unexpected (and admittedly amusing) moment when she punched Izaki square in the face ― all of it was new, all of it was _her,_ not some sort of act ― and it spiked his interest. All at once, he found himself wanting to know so much more about her true identity. Her outward appearance, like his, was such a bore. And the real fun... it always rested beneath the surface, hidden in the nitty-gritty details.

And now he was feeling an intense craving to uncover them all. He wanted to continue to unmask her until there was nothing she had left to hide from him, and his curiosity was fully sated.

Last night had truly been an experience he would not soon forget. And maybe now, he wanted her on some level, which he had not been expecting out of all this. He wanted her, but not in the way she was being presented to him. He wanted her his way.

"But in order to have my way," Leaning forward against the counter, Tora's bangs fell back into the corner of one of his eyes while he plastered a smirk onto his face. "I have some pressing matters to attend to first."

Seeing as his plans weren't going to effectuate themselves, he had a lot on his agenda for the day. The first of which was making a very important phone call, and the second of which... would be paying a visit to some old 'friends'.

xx

The last sheet fluttered in the breeze like a white sail as Renei hung it up to dry. She had finally finished doing the laundry, and had long since taken a shower and changed into something simple and comfortable. Her brother's room was clean, and she felt clean, and that dress was hanging in the back of her closet somewhere haunting her with memories of last night ―

She needed to get out of the house.

Well technically, she was outside at the moment, but hanging out on the balcony watching clothes dry didn't count as the type of healthy outing she was looking for.

Grabbing up the basket of folded clothes at her side, she stepped back into the apartment. Silence greeted her like an unwelcome house guest once the city noise was blocked out by the door sliding shut behind her, and the feeling of loneliness nagged at her not for the first time today.

She winced at the pain she felt in her hand while carrying the basket. It wasn't her _whole_ hand that hurt, which made everyday activities... bearable. Really, the only reason she was doing chores was because she needed to keep busy in order to shake off the loneliness and the uncomfortable memories from last night. And her pain tolerance was high so she was doing fine.

As fine as she could do in a big and empty apartment, with swollen fingers, bruised knuckles, and far too much on her mind that she had to figure out how to deal with on her own.

Renei had no doubt about it that, if her mother could find the time on her hands to do so, she would continuously pester her; last night was only the beginning of it. And she would much rather not meet with her mother again if she could help it, but there was really no stopping it from happening.

Then there was the fact that Izaki apparently lusted after her, something that unsettled her to such an extent that she felt the urge to file a restraining order, especially after the close call she had with him last night.

And then there was Igarashi's oddly heroic moment which was confusing to say the least about it.

On top of all that, Masao had called and texted her a few times while she was sleeping in this morning, and she still hadn't gotten back to him. As much as she missed his company, she couldn't deal with another update from him regarding how their father was doing. It would prove to be too overwhelming, and also, she didn't trust herself to tell him a believable lie about how she was doing here without him. She had to get herself straightened out first, clear her head and all that before speaking to him.

And the best way for her to do that was to go for a run.

Leaving the basket of laundry on her bed to put away later, she quickly went to fill up a water bottle in the kitchen, taking care to make use of her left hand more than her right one. Already dressed in a tank top and joggers, all she needed to do then was grab her tennis shoes by the door and head out―

She collided with someone just after opening up the front door and stepping out into the hallway.

"Uh... I was about to knock, but it seems like you already knew I was here?"

Renei paused with the door still open behind her, looking directly into the face of a certain sweet-toothed guitarist. "Yoshikawa?" She squawked rather inelegantly. What was he doing here?

He stood there looking as comfy in his own skin as ever in a muscle shirt hoodie and tight jeans, with a set of headphones hanging around his neck. His shaggy red hair, as always, was quite the shocking sight, and his smile was ever-so crooked. It struck Renei right then that she hadn't seen him since the day she had confronted him about the photo incident, and even if it wasn't a fresh memory, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her ― the feeling of being welcome and safe ― came rushing back to her for a fleeting moment.

"You seem surprised. Well, I _am_ supposed to be at the studio with everyone else today, but your brother told me to drop by and see how you were doing first. Something about you not answering your phone, he figured the battery might be dead." The red head didn't bother with an invitation, already moving past her to step inside the apartment. "I'm just popping in for a visit and then I gotta head back, but I brought my ipod along so that you can listen to some of the songs we've been recording. Working with Anna-chan has been a breeze, she's really doing her best with us, though I don't know if it's because she wants us to succeed or more because she wants to impress your brother."

"Oh." Renei walked back inside, closing the door behind her. Looks like her run would have to wait until after Shin left. "That's great news. I've never met Ikewaki-san before, but it sounds like she can do her job well and is taking good care of things while Masao's away."

"Yeah." Shin grinned, resting a hip against the door frame where the entrance of the kitchen was. "It's kinda weird though, having her in charge. She has a baby face, barely even looks _our_ age, let alone twenty-four. It's like being told what to do by a little kid ― an overachieving, successful little kid who knows exactly what they're doing all of the time. It's no wonder your bro has a major crush on her, but I never would've guessed he had a thing for the cutesy type."

Renei managed to crack a smile at that. "Me neither, not that it matters what she looks like. I'm just glad that there's even a girl at all."

"You should've seen him when he introduced her to us. It was like he was revealing this big secret, and he was worried about us spoiling it for him. Obviously he likes to keep certain things private. I don't think they're going out yet, but it doesn't take a genius to see that they like each other."

Laughing along with him, she passed him by and walked into the kitchen. "I hope that they do. It's about time he started focusing on something other than work and family. Anyway, do you want something to drin―"

He grabbed her arm without warning, her right arm.

" _What happened?_ " Shin's tone had gone from lighthearted to appalled in an instant. He emphasized his words by holding up her arm and staring pointedly at the bruises on her hand.

Renei's mouth clamped shut and her guard went up immediately. It took her brain a moment to come up with anything to say about the injury, but she ended up landing on her most automatic response. "It's nothing."

Shin reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, gently, but it still hurt of course; enough for Renei to visibly flinch.

"No, I won't accept that answer this time. Every time you say it's nothing, it's definitely something, and I won't let you keep lying your way out of confrontation when things are bothering you. What happened?" He repeated the last part, carefully holding her hand up so that he could get a better look at the ugly bruises.

"Yoshikawa, I don't think it's your place nor anyone else's to go interrogating me about―"

"You told me before that you could learn to put your trust in me. Why not start now?" His eyes fluttered upwards to meet with hers, and she couldn't find it in herself to look away. She also couldn't find it in herself to say another word to him about it, either. He was already angry without firm reason, and she didn't want to start adding more fuel to that fire. _If_ she were to talk to him about it, she wanted him to be calm.

"You need to put ice on that." He let go of her hand abruptly, turning on his heel and heading deeper into the kitchen. His shoulders were tense and his jaw was set, it was obvious that he was a long way from calming down. "I'll get some. You sit down on the sofa or something and relax."

"Wait, Yoshikawa." Renei moved to follow him, trying to soothe him with her words. "Just wait a second. I don't need anything, alright? I'm fine. Everything is fi―"

"I'm not going to wait for anything when your hand looks like you slammed it in a car door." He deadpanned, the soles of his shoes echoing along the tiled floor. Until now, she hadn't even realized he had forgotten to take them off. "Here." He turned around with an ice pack in hand, the open freezer door letting a chill fill the air. "Use this as a cold compress, and go rest it somewhere."

She didn't take the ice pack from him, choosing instead to stubbornly meet his eyes. "I'm not badly injured, and it was self-inflicted anyway so―"

"Self-inflicted?" He interrupted, eyes wide in disbelief. "What did you do, punch a wall? I think you should just stick to throwing inanimate objects when you're upset, Renei."

"Renei-san."

"Don't correct me, because Doctor Yoshikawa knows best." He berated, though the humor was lost from the words, easily swallowed up by the several other emotions coming through in his tone. "And why the hell would you hurt yourself anyway? Are you okay?" His dark eyes searched hers, rapidly flickering back and forth, but she had her mask set firmly into place.

"I didn't purposely hurt myself." She responded coolly, despite feeling irritated by his bossiness and how overly-concerned he was acting. "It just happened. I don't know how."

"How could you not know―"

"I don't want to talk about what happened," She cut him off with a clipped tone accompanied by a glare that clearly told him to back off. "if that's alright with you."

"And what if it's not?"

He stepped closer to her then, right into her personal space without a second thought. The heel of the boots he had on put him up to eye-level with her, and he looked... well, mainly angry, but also a little sad. "Your brother called _me_ so that I could check up on you. He trusted _me_ to see that you were doing okay, to make sure that he wasn't just being paranoid and overprotective as always. I came here for him, but that's not just it, because I also came here for you. I'm here. For you." His eyes were filled to the brim with determination as he spoke. "And I'm not leaving until I know that me being here has done something to help. I can't leave until I have something positive to report back to your brother. I won't lie to cover your ass, Renei." He met her glare with one of his own. "And I won't let you lie to cover yours either."

Renei took a step back, keeping her glare in place, trying to show that she was unaffected by his words even though they had dug their roots into her deeply. Being labeled as a liar by not only Igarashi, but Yoshikawa as well, made her feel transparent and good-for-nothing. Lying came naturally to her, yes, but was it such a sin? Was it such a great, big, terrible thing to lie in order to avoid the trouble of telling the truth? She said none of this out loud, feeling that Yoshikawa just wouldn't understand. No one understood her, sometimes she hardly understood herself.

She spun around then, not caring that her long hair whipped Shin in the face as she did so, and walked back out of the kitchen and into the lounge. The words 'leave me alone' were on her lips, but they never made it out in time to stop him from continuing to barrage her with unsolicited inquiries.

He followed her into the other room and just kept on talking as he went. "I heard you went to the party last night, the one at Igarashi's place. Was it him?" Obsidian eyes flashed with some unbidden, dark emotion that she missed with her back turned to him. "Did he do this to you?"

Renei could not explain why it bothered her so much that Tora was the first to be accused of such a violent act. It just didn't sit right with her for some reason, even if he teased her often, and played nasty tricks; he wouldn't bring her any type of physical harm, she knew. That's just not the way he played his games. He was trouble for sure, all sorts of trouble, but he wasn't a violent monster without any standards. She was sure that there came a point where he, just like anyone else, would draw the line for himself and make the choice not to step over it.

As terrible as he was, she saw good in him.

"Now that's a stretch. I already told you, no one else did this to me. I caused it. And for your information, Igarashi might be a troublesome guy, but he wouldn't physically hurt anyone." She found herself defending the blond, of all things, when she really didn't have to. She didn't owe him anything. And she most certainly had more of a reason to be upset with him than to stand up for him.

And yet, even after the embarrassment he had caused her and the disrespect he showed in the beginning, even after the threat of blackmail and the way he sabotaged the party for her last night by inviting her mother... All she could focus on in the end was the incident with Izaki and the way Tora had helped her out when he could have just walked away instead. He could have left the situation alone, but he chose to interrupt, to get himself involved and stop her from being taken advantage of. Whether either of them wanted to admit it or not, (and she was sure neither of them did) he saved her, on purpose, without her having to ask him to (the moment when he prodded her to say 'please' hardly counted as her asking, since he was already going to help her the moment he arrived at the scene). And then afterward, there was the matter of him asking her concerned questions and insisting that he see what was wrong with her hand; almost like he wanted to take care of her.

And he hadn't been putting on an act, she could tell. He had enough of a conscience on him to be genuine when it really counted. The concern coming from him in that moment was unintentional, but real.

"Prince of Judo wouldn't hurt anyone, huh?" Shin's response came with a bite of sarcasm. "Sorry, my bad for assuming such a ridiculous thing."

"It _is_ a ridiculous thing to assume." She crossed her arms and turned back to face him with a scowl. "You don't know anything about him, so you have no right to make those kind of assumptions."

"You might think that I only know him through rumors, but I've seen the way he has manipulated people. I'm not blind. I see what counts, what's most important to notice. And I know he's not the good guy. The guy's not all sunshine and roses, he's a big deal, he's a big threat, to a lot of people."

"I know he's not the 'good guy' either," Renei argued back. "but what are you trying to imply with that, Yoshikawa? Is it _you_ who's supposed to be all sunshine and roses? Are you supposed to be the 'good guy'?"

He scoffed, glancing away to escape her stubborn gaze. "I don't... I mean, well... yeah, maybe." When he looked back at her, he seemed more than certain of it, actually he seemed far too enthusiastic about it. "Yes!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Now _that_ is what's ridiculous, these labels that get thrown around. Even my mother, as much as I dislike her, doesn't deserve to be labeled something as decisive as 'bad'. You can't define a person like that, you can't trust something so oblique, so I don't agree with the idea of labeling people as strictly 'good' or 'bad'."

Because, for example, she thought to herself with an image of Tora in mind, if you already had them labeled as bad, they could go around and completely contradict it with something as simple as showing a bit of concern for someone else.

Since people are surprising like that.

"And I don't agree with the idea of you marrying Igarashi." Shin shrugged, clearly past the point of caring about what he might say in his current state of frustration.

Renei rolled her eyes. Were they seriously going to have this argument? "Well that's too bad, you know, because he is my fiancé."

"But why the hell is he?!" The volume of his voice startled her, and she involuntarily took a step back when she noticed the look on his face. God, she hoped that wasn't jealousy. She'd much rather it be rage.

"Why do you have to ask? Can't you just accept it?"

A sigh escaped him then, releasing a little of his frustration. "No." He managed to lower his voice to a sound that matched hers. "Because I don't think you have actually accepted it yourself."

"It's my own choice―"

"You know, I really get the feeling that it's not."

Renei wished she had something to say to that. Anything. Anything to fill up the silence between them then, to make her story believable. But somehow, her lies had abandoned her just when she needed them the most.

Shin rubbed a hand over his face and back through his hair, then down over his face again before releasing another sigh and moving towards the balcony doors. "For the first time in a long while," He grunted out. "I really need a smoke."

She froze in place, staring after him with wide, uncertain eyes. When he didn't say anything else, just continued to walk away from her, she turned to a place of anger; it was better to be angry with him than allow the disappointment get to her, after all.

"...You need a _what?_ "

xx

To say that the Walker family was a bit 'closed off' was just a polite way of saying that they strictly refused to do business with the Igarashis and certain other companies who had lost either their respect, their trust, or both of those things. The Walker family consisted of very careful and extremely sharp business people, and to get back on good terms with them after they had already decided not to do business with you was what one would call impossible. Tomio and Aya Igarashi had tried and failed to reestablish some sort of beneficial connection with the Walkers many, many hopeless times.

But Tora, however? Well, he had a trump card that he'd been saving for a rainy day. And today was that rainy day.

The Englishman picked up on the second-to-last ring, probably taking his sweet time to answer just so that he could tease whoever was on the other end of the line. The reason that he knew this about the man? Well, Tora had once been pretty well-acquainted with him.

After the trouble that had happened between their families a while back, this man had remained in Japan for a while afterwards undercover, keeping an eye on his little brother. When Maki managed to find out that the man was still in Japan, he went straight to Tora with the news. His parents never found out, but Tora had followed the man (even if their families couldn't get along, Tora wanted to try to have as many personal allies as possible) and gotten to talking with him about secrets, favors, and bets. It didn't take long for the two of them to realize that they each had one other thing in common other than the both of them being businessmen ― they loved to play games.

And the last thing the man had said to him, Tora recalled, was that he wished he could find some way to convince his brother to come back to Raven Castle and accept his life in England. He had also jokingly implied that Tora might be the only guy cunning enough to face off with his little brother and win.

In short, the man had issued something of a challenge to him on that day, and Tora had never forgotten about it. He had simply not seen the point to doing the Englishman a favor, unless he could get a favor out of him in return. And the only favor he wanted was for the Walker family to do business with his own family, because that's exactly what his parents wanted, and Tora could use that to get what _he_ wanted from them in return.

And finally the deals had been struck and it was now time to act.

"This is Gerald Walker speaking, and if I remember this number right, I'm speaking to the one and only Tiger-kun, correct?"

"Nice memory you have there." Tora answered politely, despite being annoyed by the nickname. "It's been a long time since we last spoke, and yet you still know when it's me calling."

"Oh but how could I forget you, Tiger-kun? You have such a memorable name."

Tora cleared his throat, more than ready to move on to a more serious topic. "You mentioned before to me, that you want your brother back at the castle."

"I did?"

There was the pause between the two where Tora waited with rolling eyes as the other young man tried to play dumb just for the fun of it. After a few minutes of silence, the Englishman decided to speak up again, not even bothering to cover up the disappointment in his voice.

"Geez, how boring of you, Tiger-kun. You won't even humor me with a guessing game." He sighed, as if completely let down by this. "Ah, well. I suppose I shouldn't keep a busy guy like you waiting. What is it that you called me for, regarding my half-brother?"

"He and I have crossed paths a few times since you left Japan. Usually he proves to be a nuisance, but recently I've realized that there's more to him than that."

"Well, I apologize for his actions that have caused you trouble, but at least it sounds like he's not bothering you anymore now."

Tora decided to cut right to the chase. "Your family still refuses to do business with mine, correct?"

"Indeed. Once you and your family found out who Takumi really is, and we didn't want that information leaking. And as a general rule, we can't do business with people who could leak private information about us, or hold that information over our heads during negotiations. A few others have found out as well since then and we have also completely ostracized them, so please don't take it personally."

"My parents take it more personally than I do."

"Well I really wouldn't blame all three of you for taking it personally, after we found out our own set of secrets about your family in order to even the playing field. I'm dreadfully sorry about that but again, we had to do it so that you couldn't blackmail us into partnering with you." The man's voice was full of laughter near the end of his words, maybe a little pity as well. "Not to be rude, but looking into your history was quite fun, my researchers unearthed... a lot of filth."

Tora thought that filth, despite how insulting of a word it was, was the perfect way to describe the Igarashi family secrets. "Speaking of filth, your brother has been associating himself with some. You're aware of what school he attends now, I assume?"

"I am aware. I've also become aware of the fact that he's getting especially close to a certain girl there. Can't say my grandfather would be too proud of that, he doesn't exactly agree with the upper class forming romantic relationships with the lower class."

"Yes, I gathered that, from the way he shunned your little brother. Tell me," His tone changed from slightly sarcastic to more polite again, since he was starting to dance around a sensitive subject. "does your grandfather know that you want to bring the illegitimate grandson back to England?"

The question was avoided, not that Tora cared whether or not it was answered since he already had a feeling about what exactly was going on with the Walker family. "My brother cannot sever his ties with the family, and he must be reminded of that. He should never have gone to Japan, because we need him here."

"He has a role to fill." Tora supplied. "Once you've... retired."

"I've explained such a thing to him before, but he's never taken it as seriously as he should. And now that he actually has a reason to want to stay in Japan, I don't think he'll even try to consider coming back home. But really, it's for his own good to be here rather than over there. We would welcome him, and I'm sure the people would welcome him too. Obviously, he doesn't know what's best for him if he's entertaining the idea of staying there permanently."

"Lucky for you," Tora smoothly cut in. "I can make him change his mind. All I have to do is separate him from the life he's created here; I'll plant the seed of doubt, and it will start growing on its own, creating a divide between him and his friends, mainly the girl. I know exactly how to manipulate these people."

"As do I." Gerald's tone changed to a suddenly darker one, before lightening once more. It did that a lot; sometimes one could assume the man was bipolar. "But seeing as I can't be in Japan looking after my younger brother and making sure to steer him toward the right path, you'll have to do all of the persuading and steering for me."

"And I will. For a price."

"A price..." The Englishman mused. "So, I take it you've finally struck that deal with your parents. Tell me, what's it about? Or do I have to go digging around for information myself?"

"I'm engaged." Came the rather bored reply. "I don't want to be. My parents are being excluded from conducting business with your family. They don't want to be." A sigh escaped his lips, making it seem like what he was taking about wasn't too big of a problem, more like a simple annoyance. "You get the picture."

"Engaged, as in to be married? Well why on earth would Tiger-kun not want to be married?" Gerald's voice was such a saccharine tone that Tora could practically smell the flowers from his end of the line. "And who is the lucky, blushing bride-to-be?"

"A family friend. She's..." He was going to say not his type, but things had changed rather recently. His opinion of her was not the same as it once had been. "I do not wish to marry her." Yes, not _marry_. But other things... might prove to be nice. He would be fine with keeping her around for the sake of entertainment. Convincing her of sticking around just so that she could humor him and possibly be another notch on his bedpost would be hell though. He almost laughed to himself as he replayed the moment in his mind when Renei punched Izaki hard enough to knock him to the ground. And that guy hadn't even done anything to her yet, other than pin her down and try to go in for a kiss.

"Well that's too bad, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Anyway, I'm willing to meet your price, but only because I like you, Tiger-kun.. I've also made the decision that we should be friends, since we seem to work so well together. How does that sound? Maybe when all of this is over, we can visit each other on the holidays and go out for drinks together. For Christmas, I have a pair of tiger print bikini briefs with your name on them!"

Tora sneered into the phone, while he knew the other man was smiling teasingly on the other end. "To be perfectly honest, I only value you as my trump card."

Gerald paused for a beat before beginning to laugh his ass off for some reason. Tora sat there, feeling slightly irritated while he listened to the laughter start to turn into fits of coughing instead. He was patient as he waited for the Englishman to regain his composure.

"Funnily enough, I know exactly how you feel, since I also have someone whom I only value as a trump card." The coughing started up again, and Tora had to hold his ear away from the phone, it was so loud. "Ahem... excuse me. I'll be in touch, Tiger-kun."

And with that, the other line went dead.

xx

Shin fumbled with the wrapper around the candy before finally ripping it off and tossing it over the edge of the balcony. He popped the sugary treat into his mouth and hummed his content, closing his eyes in a bit of relief.

"That's littering, you know."

Renei had followed him out here, no doubt because he had worried her with his comment about smoking. He really could use a cigarette after all the stress he had gone through in just one argument with her, but he'd rather rot his teeth with sugar than kill himself with cancer.

"Look, before you freak out and throw something at me, I think I should explain a little something about myself to you." He turned around, resting his elbows back against the railing. When he locked eyes with her, she looked absolutely livid, but also a bit confused. He let out another sigh, adjusting the hard candy to his inner cheek so that he could talk better. "I haven't smoked since those pictures were taken last year, and I'm not gonna start up again. The band suggested I substitute the cigarettes with something else, so I did, and I developed a new addiction. A healthier one, I might add. You've got nothing to worry about, caffeine and cake is my drug now, not Nicotine."

Her anger was swept away by a wave a relief, he could see it then in her eyes. She was quick to cover it up though, as always, too afraid to show her true emotions. "Promise me you're telling the truth."

"Renei." He looked at her seriously. "I always tell the truth." There was a break where neither of them spoke, and when she looked like she was about to say something again, he decided to cut in first. "Speaking of telling the truth... Hey! Wait, come back!"

She had turned right around and walked back inside.

He followed her, of course, since he still had to get answers out of her. "Renei, can't we just sit down and talk―"

"Renei-san, for the last time Yoshikawa, it's Renei- _san!_ " She spat, still walking away from him.

"Fine! Whatever, I don't care! Just tell me what happened to your hand."

"I bruised it."

"How?"

They had reached her room now, and she went through the door without him, slamming it shut behind her and locking it. He pounded on it with both his fists, not caring how annoying she found it.

"Renei-san, please, tell me how it happened!"

"You'll find out when you see the nasty bruises on Izaki's face at school. They should match my own." She spoke from the other side of the door.

He stood completely still outside her room. He had not been expecting that answer. "What? Wait... Izaki. You mean... Kyohei Izaki? That little Historian guy?"

"Yes."

Shin needed a moment to slow down and think. To rephrase things out loud. "You're saying that you punched the Student Council Historian in the face?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

He could hear her exasperated sigh. "Seriously."

He rolled the hard candy to the other cheek, enjoying the lingering taste on his tongue. The sugar helped him to be able to think more clearly, but there was no way he could simply guess what the guy had done to deserve a punch to the face. "And you did that because...?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do." He shot back. "Obviously I do."

"Well you won't like it."

"What? Why?"

"Considering how you get all overprotective like Masao does, I really do not think telling you would be a good idea."

Shin was starting to feel plenty worried now. "Just tell me, okay?"

"No, I don't think that I should."

He couldn't stop the anger from filling up his tone if he had wanted to. "Well you can't keep lying to me and hiding away like this. Whatever lies you tell, or however you try to avoid things, I'll see through it! Even if you're hiding in there so that I can't read your face, I'll be able to tell by your voice alone that something isn't right. All this talk about it not being a good idea to tell me is bullshit, and I know you need to talk about it, so just _say it_." He stopped ranting in order to listen, to give her a chance to respond. When she didn't say anything, he leaned back against the door with a frustrated sigh. "Alright." He was at the end of his rope with this. There was no other way to get the information out of her if he didn't start playing dirty. "Then let's make a wager. If you tell me what Izaki did to you, then I will promise to keep it a secret from your brother. And if you don't tell me, then I'll call him up right now and explain that you injured your hand and you won't tell me how it happened."

Silence still from the other end of the door.

"Oi―"

"I honestly don't know too much about how it happened. But one moment I was sitting there by myself, and the next he was there. And we were talking, I remember telling him to leave. That's when he pinned me down... And I was kind of drunk, so I couldn't get away. He... if it wasn't for Igarashi, then Izaki would have... he would have molested me. So despite what either of us have thought about the President up until now, despite all the preconceived notions about him, Igarashi actually did the right thing, and he saved me. We can't disregard that, or at least, I can't. I'm grateful, even if it was just a one time thing. And I don't really know what he meant by this, but I'm sure he was right about it when he told me that I injured my hand because I threw the punch wrong. Something about the bone being fractured..."

When she finished talking, the silence came back, thicker than it felt before. There wasn't much left to explain on her end, and Shin couldn't create much of a response either. The information was a lot to take in, the emotions (mainly the anger toward Izaki) were overwhelming, and saying the usual things like 'I'm sorry' or 'are you okay?' seemed a little redundant. The thing he most wanted to ask was if she would agree to going to see a doctor with him for her hand, but now didn't seem like the right time to suggest that. They both needed _something_ to help them regroup, he just had to think of what...

"My mom made the best banana ice cream whenever I wasn't feeling well as a kid." He spoke softly through the door when that was the first thing that came to him. "And I can copy the recipe almost perfectly. Can I borrow your kitchen for a while?"

"...Sure."

He let out a deep breath he had been holding in, and smiled a little. "Okay." He started to turn around, but her voice stopped him for a second.

"Yoshikawa, listen to me. You can't tell Masao."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

As he walked away, despite what he had just said, Shin pulled out his phone and stared at his contacts screen. His thumb hovered over the call button next to Masao's name, waiting for his brain to make a decision.

He settled for a text instead.

\- Send to: Manager Man -

 _|Ur sis is safe & healthy here at the apt. but her phone is dead like u thot. She says she might have left the charger at school. Anyway, I'm gonna make her sum food & hang out here 4 a bit b4 going back 2 the studio 4 more work on the album. Don't stress urself, man. Things r gr8 on r end.| _

He sent it without looking. Something about lying made him really uncomfortable. Maybe because he did it so much before, when he would lie to his parents about who he was hanging out with and where he was going, getting himself mixed up in all sorts of trouble behind their backs. You never forget the guilt you feel from something like that. He wanted his parents to trust him, he wanted everyone to be able to always trust him now in ways that they couldn't before. The whole lying thing... he honestly hated it, but he was only going to do it again just this one time, and only because it was for Renei.

The text from Masao popped in a few minutes later.

\- From: Manager Man -

 _|Thank you for checking on her for me. Please stop using such ridiculous text slang. You sound like an idiot and it's annoying.|_

\- Send to: Manager Man -

 _|Who's the idiot? I told u not 2 worry so much ;P |_

\- From: Manager Man -

 _|We can't both be idiots. You'll have to be a double idiot instead of us sharing the title. And I only worry because I care.|_

Shin stared down at the text fondly, a sad smile working its way onto his lips. "Yeah." He said, turning his phone off and slipping it back into his pocket. "I get it. Me too."

xx

Usui yawned, looking bored and tired as his feet automatically took him in the direction of the Student Council room. He needed something to do other than wander the halls, and spying on the Prez was one of the best hobbies to take up around here.

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with the menacing aura of said President, her eyes glinting like the devil's as she crushed her foot against the spine of some guy sprawled out on the floor. Looks like he had come just in time for the day's usual bit of entertainment. Ah, Prez never disappointed.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" The ravenette reached down and yanked what looked like a sports magazine out of the poor guy's limp hand. "This is a study hour! You can read these types of things during your free time, but right now you should have your head stuck in books instead of mag―"

The front cover of the magazine fell off, the flimsy tape holding it together not being enough to keep it in place. As the fake cover floated to the ground, the real cover became exposed to everyone's eyes. It consisted of several large-breasted women in bikinis. They were posing with their bodies pressed up against a sports car. Usui supposed that _could_ count as something that had to do with sports, though he doubted the President would see things his way.

Misaki's face was instantly filled with color as she glanced down at what she was now holding, and she grit her teeth in disgust before she stomped her foot even harder against her victim's back. Usui wondered about how if one were to listen close enough, they might hear the grinding sound of the boy's backbone against the heel of her shoe. "So it was something indecent you were hiding all along, eh? This is definitely going to be confiscated!"

"P-President?"

She turned to the shy figure of Yukimura with her glare still in place. "What is it, Yukimura?"

"I don't want to... to bother you right now, b-but..." He glanced uneasily out the window, sweating bullets while placed underneath her lethal gaze. "You were wondering where the sports club representative went, right?"

Her face turned quizzical, and she finally lifted her foot off of the guy below her. He whimpered, and was swiftly dragged to a safe corner of the room by his friends. "Uh... yeah, he excused himself to go get a drink and should have been back a while ago."

Yukimura did nothing more than point a finger toward the window, causing Misaki to move closer and see what was going on outside.

Must've been something pretty bad, 'cause the next thing Usui knew, he was being completely ignored as she ran past him with a fire lit in her eyes, and disappeared down the hallway at an inhuman speed.

He moved to follow after her.

Near the outdoor water fountains, four boys were messing around splashing each other. One of them had even gotten the hose out, and was spraying the other two with it, chasing them around and around the now muddied ground.

All of them stopped when they felt a sudden chill roll up and down their backs at exactly the same time, and it wasn't from the way the water soaked through their clothes. Something... like a demonic presence was in the air.

"What..." The presence hissed from behind them. "Do you think you're doing out here?"

Two of the boys ran off without a trace, screaming "Every man for himself!", but the last two were quickly grabbed by the collars of their shirts before they could also escape. The demon continued, grinding her teeth. "Last I checked, the school grounds weren't a water park for idiots!"

"Sorry! Sorry, we're sorry! It won't happen again!"

"Please don't punish us, we were just trying to cool off!"

Misaki grunted at that last remark. "Cool off, huh? It's barely a warm day today, let alone a hot one. And what do I always say, about using that extra energy for studying or helping out with some of the work we have to get done, instead of playing around?"

"But Prez, it's the weekend. We can relax a little!"

"There's too much to do! We are here to help out with the clubs today, along with going over other important business that didn't get covered last week due to several absences. It's enough that people keep missing school because they have a bad case of hay fever or a cold, we really don't need you trying to sink the school underwater on top of that!" She released them, and started pointing around and flailing her arms about, complaining about the major mess they had made. "You two are going to have to clean this up immediately, what if someone slipped and got hurt? But first, you're going to need to change out of your wet clothes so that you don't catch a cold like some of the other students have. And I'm warning you for the last time today, if this ever happens again―"

The nagging only got worse from there, and Usui would have just stood there and watched things play out as they usually did, but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He could see a figure, watching them in the distance. When he turned his head to get a better look, his green eyes narrowed down to pinpricks filled with suspicion.

Tora took that as his cue to approach the other blond, and Usui decided to meet him halfway.

"Pleasure seeing you again, Usui-kun." He looked past him at Misaki disciplining the other boys, and smirked. "Mind me asking why you're all here on the weekend?"

"Why are you here?" The bluntness from the green-eyed blond was to be expected, of course.

"Ayuzawa-san once told me that she would speak to me at my convenience. You were there for it, so you should be able to remember."

Usui's eyes flashed at the mention of that day, the day when he had gone to rescue Misaki from the advances of the Igarashi heir.

"Although, it's not only her that I came to see today." Tora leaned in close, and his lips curved as he spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "I've recently been in touch with your brother."

He could sense the other young man tensing up beside him, and Tora was practically purring in delight at the displeased look on the other's face. It was all too obvious that Usui didn't like to be associated with or even hear mention of his family, especially his brother. It was highly satisfying to get under his skin, almost like dishing out a sort of, mild revenge.

As soon as the green-eyed blond opened up his mouth to ask about it, Misaki was suddenly there by his side. She had finally taken notice of the two of them, and looked uncomfortable to say the least. Not that she could be blamed, since Tora was not to be trusted and Usui was looking rather uneasy about something, possibly even angry. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but now was not the time for sentimentality with Tora standing right there watching them.

"President Igarashi," She met cunning golden eyes with a calm look of her own. "I wasn't expecting your visit."

Automatically, he bowed. Perhaps there was no need to keep up pleasantries since she had already seen his true colors, but they were out in public, and other students were probably watching, wondering why he was here. It was always all about keeping up appearances, so here he was, acting the perfect part of a gentleman again. "President Ayuzawa." When he straightened up again, the smirk was more in his eyes than on his lips. "I see you are the same as ever. Taking good care of your fellow students and the school."

"Thank you... For what reason are you here visiting, Igarashi-san?" Misaki folded her arms, something he recognized as a defensive stance. Was she afraid? Intimidated?

Maybe he was just being hopeful. Knowing her, she was more ready to fight than flee. "Well, I'll skip any more pleasantries and get straight to the point. As I'm sure you've been able to notice, Usui-kun has a lot going for him."

Her brow furrowed. "U...sui?" Such an honest reaction of confusion took him aback for a moment; it was so different from what he had been dealing with lately. He had forgotten that, while Renei lied often and put on an act, Misaki was someone far easier to read since she was more simple and straightforward in her approach to things.

He continued on with what he had to say, clearly surprising the other President with such an unexpected topic. "So much going for him in fact, that we over at Miyabigaoka have taken a special interest in him, as of late."

Usui stood as still as a statue, with a hardened, focused gaze that bore into Tora like two bright green laser beams. Obviously, there was no discussing this with him, at least not with Misaki around, so Tora decided to turn all of his attention onto her for the time being instead.

"I don't understand." The girl took a step forward, her eyes imploring him to give a more clear and thorough explanation. "Where is this all coming from, all of a sudden? And how would it work? Would you be accepting him on a scholarship?"

"The scholarship was only being offered when we were considering welcoming you to our school. With Usui-kun, such a thing won't be needed, since he has the necessary funds."

Misaki turned over to Usui with an utterly baffled look, and he glanced away, pretending not to be a part of the conversation. It was clear to Tora that the other boy obviously hadn't mentioned anything about his wealth or his family life to her just yet, maybe he had even planned on never telling her.

Well, now it was his job to let the secrets out, and gradually build a divide between the two of them using those.

"It seems that Usui-kun doesn't feel much up to talking about this at the moment, and because of my unforeseen visit, we don't really have enough time set aside to discuss this all the way through." Tora had to withhold from drawing out this conversation for too long; he didn't want this to seem too planned out or rushed. He needed to look like the player on the sidelines, not the referee. He wanted the doubt to start to grow on its own without Misaki or Usui realizing it was even there and that he had been the one to start it. "We don't need an answer right away, so I will allow him to mull it over for a while." His smile was a welcoming one, and yet Misaki looked both wary and skeptical. "You should think about it as well, seeing as he is in your care here at the school. I don't want it to feel as if we're stealing him away from you, because that is not our intention. This is all in the interest of giving him what he deserves, because the best environment for people like him to thrive in is at a place like Miyabigaoka."

Misaki was now looking at the green-eyed boy with some sort of deep consideration resting in her slightly gentler, softer gaze. It seemed she was starting to understand bits and pieces of what Tora was trying to explain, or at least that, she wanted to understand. On some level, she cared about what was best for Takumi Usui. "People like him...?"

Usui spared a moment to tilt his head and stick out his tongue at her, apparently not seeing the need to take the current situation seriously.

Abruptly, the look in her eyes was erased and replaced by a stony gaze, which was followed closely by a wooden tone. "You mean perverted aliens from outer space? Yes, I am sure that he belongs with his own kind, like other perverts such as you, President."

Tora decided to let that insult slide for now, but he couldn't stop his smirk from popping onto his face after such a comment. "All joking matters aside, I feel urged to inform you that if you do hand him over to us I will personally ensure that he has everything he could possibly need."

She looked up at him then with a hard gaze, like steel, but he was looking closely enough to see her wavering in some sort of uncertainty. "I don't know why I'm being brought into this, when the decision is Usui's to make. I'm well aware about how much higher up Miyabigaoka stands when compared to Seika, but personally I prefer Seika. As for Usui, I can't say for sure which he would prefer more."

Usui was avoiding eye contact yet again with both of the people standing next to him. He was so still, and looking so contemplative, you could really tell that he was lost in his own head, unable to give a proper response. But Tora suspected that if Misaki weren't around, he would have been more open to discussing this further.

"Just consider my offer." Tora insisted while turning to take his leave. "That's all I ask at the moment."

Remembering her manners, Misaki bowed forward and muttered a half-hearted thanks to him for coming to pay them a visit. It was then, as he peered over his shoulder at her small frame bent over like that, that he realized she was trembling slightly. Whether out of fear or anger, perhaps even worry or just pure frustration, he would never know, because he walked away before he got the chance to see the look that her face held.

The average person would feel bad about planning to break the two up, but he was far from average. He never worked from a place of sympathy. And frankly, he flat out refused to lose to Ayuzawa again, or to lose to the Walker boys either. It was his turn to come out on top.

Gerald could have his way, sure, but he would have to help Tora out while he was at it.

Usui and Misaki could take a step back from each other and realize that their relationship, or whatever it was that was budding between them, just wasn't meant to be, since they were from two separate worlds. If Tora hadn't gotten in the way of it, then something else eventually would have.

In the interest of full disclosure though, even if he felt bitter toward all three of those people, he really didn't care about what happened to them, or Renei and the mysterious person she was trying so hard to protect.

Honestly, he couldn't care less.

Actually, he couldn't care at all.

He had lost the ability to care about anyone but himself a long time ago.

xx

When Renei had finally gathered herself and decided to come out of her room, Shin had the ice cream ready in two bowls for both of them. He looked up at her with the usual proud grin he got when he was cooking, grabbed a couple of spoons, and made his way into the lounge so that they could sit down at the sofa together.

"Masao doesn't like it when we bring food anywhere else but the table." She gave the bowl he was handing over to her a dubious look.

"Who cares? I have a thing for eating where its comfy." Shin only shrugged and pulled her arm so that she fell down onto the couch next to him.

"If that's the case, then I don't even want to know what your bedroom might look like." She shivered. "I bet there's a mountain of crumbs in every corner, and ants tracking in through the walls."

Shin just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's not like we won't be careful, right?"

"Honestly, I agree with Masao about ―"

"If you're gonna make lie to your brother, then I at least want to be able to break some of his rules while I'm at it."

That shut her up right away, and she turned to the ice cream in order to have an excuse not to speak.

Needless to say, it was the best dessert she had ever tasted, hands down, and it made her feel about ten times better. The recipe for banana ice cream was supposed to be simple, she had assumed, but with the way this stuff tasted... this had to be on some sort of gourmet level.

She peered over at Shin, ready to praise him for a job well done, but there was a strange look on his face that changed the course of her words.

"You look as if you have something you want to say." She prodded, nudging him with an elbow.

He was already on his last scoop of ice cream (not a surprise there), so maybe he just had a brain freeze from eating too fast. Then again, the look on his face had to be caused by something far more troubling than that. "If you don't mind me asking... I mean, I was wondering, about some stuff." He scooped up the last bit of ice cream and took his time before speaking again. "I take it that Igarashi doesn't want to get married, right?"

She sighed, not wanting to discuss this, but the ice cream had put her in a much better mood than before, and this couch was comfy, and so she was willing to at least try. "No he does not."

"And you don't want to get married either, do you?"

Now she couldn't help but cock an eyebrow, trying to mask her true feelings with a certain nonchalance. "Is there a point to all of this?"

Shin was left aghast by how much she reminded him of Igarashi in that moment, with the way she was looking at him and even just her tone of voice alone. She must be spending way too much time around the guy, to be picking up his habits like this. "Uh, y-yeah." He had to take a moment to clear his throat. "Yes, there is. I think I have it figured out, but I want to make sure. The engagement, it's... it's being forced. By both his and your parents. Right?"

"If I answered yes to that," She looked down, as if to hide away the sadness in her eyes that she wasn't allowing to come through in her voice. "do you really think it would matter? Would you or anyone else be able to do anything about it?"

" _You_ could do something about it." Shin blurted out, and then stopped to think for a moment. "And... Igarashi is probably already doing something about it."

"Probably." Renei agreed, leaning back against the cushions and closing her eyes. "Not that it matters. He won't succeed."

"What, you don't have faith in his abilities?"

"I have faith in my own abilities to stop him from canceling the marriage."

"But... you don't want to get married ―"

"You are missing the point." She looked over at him with a frown. "There's something I want even more than to not be married, and that is to be married."

Shin's head was spinning at this point, and the look on his face was priceless to watch, though she didn't laugh. "Okay, now you're speaking in riddles or something."

"It's all about my mother, okay? She's in control of our family, and if I don't follow through with this engagement, everything will fall apart. I can't let that happen. So even if I personally don't want to be married, when it comes to the sake of my family, I do want to be. In order to save them from a very possible disaster. Make sense?"

All he did was shake his head at her, because even if it made sense, even if he understood where she was coming from... He still thought she was far too good for anyone, let alone Igarashi. Maybe if it was some other guy she had to marry, he'd feel better about it. Just not Igarashi. There was no one in this world who deserved her less than that selfish blond, and even if he chose to be the hero instead of the villain every so often, that fact would never change. "You are an idiot. A selfless idiot, but an idiot nonetheless."

Renei only shrugged, and spooned more ice cream into her mouth. "Is it a crime to love your family so much? Is it a crime to care?"

Yup, he thought to himself, Igarashi _so_ didn't deserve her. "Well, if it is," Shin regarded her with an affectionate grin. "then more people should be criminals like you."


	17. Domino Effect

A/N: Some would call me evil. Namely, my characters. Because sometimes the situations I put them in are less than desirable... although my readers may disagree ;)

Disclaimer: I did not write the song used in this chapter (I was too lazy to come up with my own lyrics for a song this time around). The song that I used, which actually inspired the name of this chapter, is The Domino Effect by Elle Vee. It does not belong to me, nor does it belong to the fictional band Rose Picture. Just so we're clear.

 _A 'domino effect' or chain reaction is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a whole chain of events. The term is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes._

Many things will be effected by what happens in this chapter. And the dominoes start to fall... exactly where I want them to. Hehehehe~

I adore you all, every single one of you, but I don't want to answer all the reviews right here on the page, so those of you I can PM, I will do that as soon as I find the time to respond to your latest reviews. Right now I just really want to post this long-awaited chapter, and then go to sleep. As for those of you I can't PM because you didn't post a review from an account, I will answer you right here:

 **CMJ:** "I know you were nervous about portraying Misaki and Co. properly and I felt that you did it alright here." - Thanks, I felt I did alright too. Not the best, but at least it's satisfactory! And yes there was a lot of progress made. There's some made in this chapter as well! It's getting there... Oh and yeah I wish I had a friend like Shin too. He's such a good kid. I just wanna hug him! About Dengeki Daisy, I still haven't finished it yet, but I'm glad you could get through it all, and so quickly too, you speed reader! Art wise it is very good. I like the story line too, actually I adore the pairing of the two main characters. But that's just me. I understand if the age gap bothers you, personally I'm not bothered by it since it's such a cute story and I have personally dated a guy 5 years older than me... at the time I was 17. Maybe 8 years is a bit much, I mean it would have been different if they both had been adults and still had the 8 year gap, I guess I can see your point with that, but, I digress. It's a work of fiction and still an adorable story, I'm glad you didn't totally hate it since I was the one to suggest it to you haha ^^; And did it make you cry? Cuz it has succeeded several times in making me cry like a tiny baby child.

 **Bailey Webster:** That Tora...yeah... Well, if you would like to strangle him or hug him, you'll have to get in line for both of those things. You're very welcome for the update, and thank you for the review! :)

 **Shino:** I have brought you even more chemistry in this chapter. Yaayy! :3 And thank you for the love!

 **Anon:** I am not sure what is wrong with your reviews since they're posting in weird nonsensical broken sentences like that :/ BUT I will answer you to the best of my ability! Yes Tora is selfish and yes I suppose Renei's reasoning is flawed, in a way. She's trying to be logical, but really what she'd doing for her family is from the heart. Her father and siblings mean the world to her and she thinks the most responsible thing to do is to sacrifice her happiness for theirs. What a saint she is, huh? As for Miyuki possibly having sympathy for her daughter if she found out what Tora's really like, that just wouldn't happen. Miyuki is not selfless like Renei is. She would only tell Renei to marry Tora anyway, and find another man on the side if she truly wasn't happy with him. Thank you, I'm so glad you like my character Renei and that my story brings you joy! XD

 **Guest(s):** Forgive me for ruining your happiness by not updating in so long, and then bringing you more happiness with this update. I bet you're going through a roller coaster of emotions right now. :P Hehe, but I know you'll love this chapter!

 **lillyannp:** And I have a theory that you're a very clever person. I will not admit to your theory being true or false though. You will have to wait and see. :3

 **YouKnowWho:** Well, I'm glad you do, cuz this chapter is super SUPER long!

 **kinshi:** Hmmmm... interesting indeed.

 **gg:** Yup! Welcome to my new Tora fanfic! It thrills me to know how excited you are about it. Also, you're missing my tyrant side? Such a silly peasant you are. Bring me cake as punishment. For some reason you need punishment. Not really though, the cake is for me. You can get your own punishment cake somewhere else. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore lol :P

 **pomxxx:** Thank you! :D

As always - a huge, bubbly thanks to you all! And I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

Domino Effect

...

Daisuke had been careful to steer clear of his brother over the past few days.

After Yumiko called him explaining that Masao was visiting, he had taken his time finishing up with work and then had immediately after that gone to stay over at a friend's house. He needed a safe haven while his brother was in town, because he had the itching feeling that the moment he saw his big bro, he'd be dealt the tongue-lashing of a lifetime and _maybe_ a punch to the face.

But he could only stay at his friend's house for so long without a change of clothes or any of his other necessities. His friend was also didn't want him camping out on his couch for too long, so of course eventually, Daisuke had no other choice than to go back home.

Maybe he could sneak in unnoticed though?

It was late in the evening when he arrived at their family manor, and he made sure to park his car further down the road than he usually did so that the noise of it didn't draw attention to him. He quieted the ignition, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the fading twilight.

A short walk later had him at the back doors of the large country house. The lights weren't on this lower level, but the higher levels where the bedrooms were, glowed from within. He would have to be quick and quiet, sneaking upstairs and into his own room. Once he got there... well, he didn't really have a plan, but he did really need a change of clothes, so he'd start with that. So his current goal was to get to his room without being noticed. He shivered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up at the thought of meeting up with Masao in the middle of the hallway and having no place to run.

Daisuke shook that thought out of his head, running an unsteady hand through his shoulder-length raven locks and whispering to himself to stop being a pansy. He pulled his keys out to let himself into the house. There was a fairly loud creaking noise when he started to walk in, and he cursed himself for not fixing that damned squeaky door like Yumiko had told him to time and time again. Hopefully, no one had heard that.

For a few short moments, he was lost in a state of semi-darkness between the gloomy interior of the house and the soft bluish-orange glow of the deepening sky outside. He listened carefully, standing as still as he could in that creaky doorway. It didn't seem like anyone was on this level of the house, so it might be safe to―

A sudden and powerful kick to the chest told him otherwise as the force sent him tumbling backwards out into the yard again.

There was the sound of the door creaking shut, and then footsteps approaching him from where he was sprawled on his back in the space between two bushes.

"I've been waiting for you." The tone coming from the dark silhouette of the man standing over him was undeniably his brother's.

"Whaaa? Masao, I didn't know you were visiting!" He scampered backwards and quickly got to his feet, grinning nervously while rubbing the sore spot where the other's foot had collided with his ribs. "How's my favorite big bro doing? Still making a fashion statement with those dorky glasses of yours, it looks like. So you didn't take my advice after all, about trying contacts instead..."

"Daisuke," Masao's voice came out as a sigh as he used two fingers to push said-glasses further up his nose. The lenses glinted almost threateningly in the fading sunlight. "I'm your _only_ brother, which defeats the point of you calling me your favorite. And my glasses are not a fashion statement, nor are they in any way 'dorky'."

"It also looks like you haven't lost that ever-present need you have to correct others, either. Is it weird that in a way though, I kinda missed it?" The younger laughed nervously.

"And it looks like you are still an idiot. I know I didn't miss that, though I suppose some things just never change."

"But I'm your favorite idiot?"

"..." Masao gave his best deadpan expression, before adjusting his glances once more. "Get inside, you overgrown child. We need to talk, and I'd prefer to do it in the house where there's more light."

"Ahh," Daisuke took a large step back. "Actually... How awkward, haha... but you see, I can't at the moment. I have some business to attend to. Y'know, work stuff."

"Stop lying and get inside before I drag you in myself." The way the last word ended on a sharp note was a warning that Daisuke knew all too well. He had heard it from his brother many times before. Oftentimes even his twin sister would talk like that to him, when he was being especially troublesome. Renei had never really gotten mad at him before though... but he knew that she also had that side to her. Y'know, the kind you didn't want to mess with. That scary edge.

He himself was the only one of his siblings who had a sense of humor where his sense of severity should be.

"Well... It's a beautiful evening so why can't we just talk out here?" Daisuke's voice gave away all of his nervousness while he stupidly tried to put more space between he and his brother. Sure, he was good at getting away with a lot of things, usually. But right now, Masao wasn't going to let him get away with the current state of things at the house with their father. In fact, his brother was probably going to put him under house arrest until they figured everything out together before Masao went back to the city. So really, Daisuke thought he should saver the fresh air while he still could! Maybe try to escape...

"If we stay out here," Masao's glasses hid his stern look, yet his younger brother still felt it and shivered in discomfort. "there's a chance you'll try to run, and I'll have to chase after you, which will ultimately result in the two of us getting into one of our usual brawls. And we need to avoid that, because Renei would prefer that we try to work things out in a more sensible way rather than trying to kill each other. Yumiko would become annoyed with us as well."

Inwardly, Daisuke grumbled to himself about how he should not have taken the risk of coming here, and just bought new clothes for himself and found a hotel (even if the nearest one was miles away) to stay at instead. He was either going to get an ass-kicking or a tongue-lashing, there was no avoiding both. "Alright. I wouldn't want Yumiko to freeze me to stone with her scary medusa glare... And if baby sis would prefer that we sit and talk like adults, *gag* then I guess my hands are tied." He sighed in defeat, and a little bit of sadness as his thoughts traveled to Renei. "Ehhh, I know I sent her off with a smile, but I miss that kid! Well, she's not really a kid anymore, but still... Hey why didn't she come with you?"

"Because she has responsibilities of her own back in the city." Masao grabbed his brother and started to drag him back toward the house. Daisuke didn't protest, but he wasn't exactly going willingly either; he went completely limp, allowing himself to be dragged like a rag doll while his elder brother grunted with the effort to pull him along. "If you miss her so much, you should give her a call. Yumiko as well. In fact, why don't we all video chat with her, _after_ we've had a chance to talk about some important matters."

"Sounds like a plan. Ohoho~ what's this?" As Daisuke was yanked inside the house, he led the conversation of these 'important matters' into a different topic while he reached a hand over and felt at one of Masao's biceps. "Have you been working out bro? I think you've gotten stronger since the last time I saw you."

"Makes it all the easier for me to haul your sorry ass around." Came the mutter from the other.

"I bet it's for a girl. 'Ay, you trying to impress some pretty lady, bro?" Daisuke wiggled his eyebrows, not even bothering to hide his wince as his brother sent him a fierce scowl and guided him to the stairs. "Is she cute? What's her name?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. And keep your voice down, father's asleep."

"Ohhh, I get it. She's shy and doesn't want anyone to know about her yet."

"No, that isn't it." Masao grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Then she's not that cute after all?"

"What? No―"

"No, she's not cute? Then that means you're ashamed of her right?"

Once they had made it to the second level of the house, Masao tossed his brother into a room and tried not to slam the door shut behind them. His eyes were lit up with a certain amount of ferocity and he was snarling as he spoke, "She's perfect! A perfectly perfect woman!"

The grin that spread across Daisuke's face was slow and all sorts of sneaky. "So there IS a pretty lady that you're trying to impress? What's her naaaame~?"

Realizing his mistake all too late, Masao turned his head away with a frown. "Like I'll tell you who she is."

"C'mon, you have to tell me! This is such a rare and special occasion, for you to have a woman in your life! You know, for a while there, I figured you were gay―"

"Daisuke!"

"Better keep your voice down, father's asleep." Daisuke copied him from before, using his mock-Masao voice, which consisted of speaking in a higher register with a touch of arrogance. (So it actually sounded very little like Masao.)

The younger began snickering while the older took a deep breath and tried to lower his sudden rocketing frustration with the other, to no avail. And when amused plum colored eyes met annoyed denim blue, for a moment, it seemed as if a fight was going to break out between the two brothers. Masao stepped closer, Daisuke backed into the door in a sudden panic with his fists held high, put on the defensive―

The door swung open, and in stepped the bittersweet beauty known as Yumiko. She didn't pay any heed to the fact that she had just pinned her twin between the door and the wall, and merely looked between her brothers with the same colored eyes as Daisuke, and the same stern look in her eyes as Masao.

"If the two of you do not keep your voices down," Her own voice was low, very quiet, and chilling ― nothing new when it came to her, but it still made both of her siblings freeze in place. "I will personally take it upon myself to gag you both with Daisuke's worst smelling pair of socks."

Masao released the breath he had been holding upon her sudden entrance, and peered at her over the rim of his glasses. "Only you could come up with such an unpleasant punishment as _that_."

Placing a stray lock of silken raven hair behind her ear, Yumiko stared right back up at him with a level gaze. "Thank you."

"Hey Yumi, guess what?" Daisuke was scrambling to work his way out from between the wall and door, and he had a silly grin on his face as he locked eyes with his twin. "Masa's got a girlfriend."

The eldest sibling immediately bristled again. "I― I wouldn't call her that." He insisted, angrily, confusedly. "We are just coworkers. At most, she's a... friend, of sorts."

"Of sorts?" Yumiko mumbled the question mostly to herself, only mildly curious about it.

"Oh stop it, you're way too shy when it comes to the ladies." With no offered help from either of his siblings whatsoever, Daisuke managed to free himself on his own at last and he moved to pat his brother on the shoulder. "Congrats, bro. I'm proud of y―ow!"

The hand was slapped away. "There is nothing to be proud of for having a work friend."

"You mean girlfriend."

"Work. Friend."

"Girl. Friend."

"She's just my coworker Daisuke!" Masao's control seemed to finally snap.

"Yes, but does she double as your lover of the night?" The younger teased.

Both boys were kept from closing in and possibly getting into a fight when Yumiko stepped between them and pushed a hand to both of their chests. "This argument is stupid. Let's change the subject."

Masao eased up a bit, but only a bit. He was still quite irked, but Daisuke always had that effect on him. They grew up interacting like this, picking on each other (or really, Daisuke would pick on him with words and Masao would only have so much patience with the other before he eventually retaliated with his fists). "Yes, let's talk about what's important. Namely, our father's health."

Daisuke was pouting, upset that the fun was over. "But... You're really not going to tell us her name?"

"So that you can stalk her on all forms of social media and try sending her copies of all my baby pictures? The first and final answer is a solid **NO**."

The disappointment was clear as day on the younger man's face, and it was accompanied by a hint of exasperation in his voice, "Y'know, you're a real―"

"Stubborn hard ass, yes, yes I know, you only say it every time you see me." Masao impulsively moved to push up his glasses again. "Now, the two of you should take a seat. It's about time we discussed some more pressing matters..."

Yumiko actually seemed surprised to be a part of this. "I was going to go back to my room and read."

"Well that's not what you're going to do." Masao moved over to a nearby recliner and gestured for the twins to sit across from him on the couch. "The both of you are going to sit here with me and we are going to have a serious discussion about father's health, the finances, and anything else I deem important to talk about. I didn't come all the way out here for no good reason. And the sooner we get through this, the better."

Reluctantly the twins sat down, Yumiko in silence while Daisuke was mumbling complaints. Masao was glad to finally get to the whole point of why he came here― after all, he had his work to get back to, plus, he was starting to worry about Renei being in the city living on her own. Their communication had been lacking lately, and he didn't like it. Apparently her phone was dead, her charger missing somewhere, so he would have to video chat with her just to see her and know she was doing alright. And hopefully, in a couple of days, after making sure that the twins were able to handle everything here on their own, he could head back to his usual busy life of work and little sister monitoring.

Shin had assured him that everything was fine though, so he probably shouldn't feel too worried about her.

xx

Renei did not show up to any of her classes the following day.

And when she proved to be absent for Student Council activities, Tora suspected that she hadn't made any effort to come to school at all.

Which was very unlike her, considering her work ethic and her perseverance as a student and secretary. Not that he cared if she was acting unlike her usual self or not, but this actually happened to effect him.

She would have to discuss her absences with the teachers and figure her own way to make up for it. As for the Student Council work she was missing for the day, that had become entirely his problem. If he had known ahead of time that she would be absent today, he would have planned ahead and had Takarabe fill in for her. However, since it was such short notice, Takarabe was already too busy with other classes and club activities to help out with the secretarial work. Which meant that they were lacking one Student Council member, so they had to do double the work in her absence.

Why she was absent didn't matter to him in the least. The fact that she _was_ absent was what mattered. He wasn't worried about Renei as a person, no, he was frustrated with her as a fellow member of the Student Council. She had caused unnecessary problems that were pushed onto him. Not that he couldn't handle it, in fact, it didn't take much for him to get everything back under his control, but it was still quite aggravating that the woman didn't even bother to contact him and explain herself. He was President of the Student Council, the one in charge, and the other members were supposed to report everything to him. And if not him, then Renei should have at least reported to Maki, but the Vice President hadn't heard a single word from her either.

"Annoying." Tora muttered under his breath, ignoring the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Oi! Prez! Did you not hear me say wait up?!"

In the next moment Tora found himself stopped in the hallway by that boy with flaming red hair. He cocked an eyebrow at the other's usual haphazard dress shirt, studded belt, and eyebrow piercing, but said nothing; he tried to walk around him instead of engaging in conversation. The blond didn't feel much like wasting his breath on someone so easily unimpressive.

"Listen! I need the notes from today's Student Council meeting." Yoshikawa panted, apparently having ran to catch up with him. He fell into step behind the other, still doing his best to keep up with Tora's longer strides.

"What could you possibly need with those?" The President drawled disinterestedly.

"Renei asked me to bring them to her, along with any homework assignments from today as well. I really didn't have much of a choice other than to come find you, seeing as the others on the Student Council can't be bothered to help out. They wouldn't speak one word to me, and they even locked me out of the Student Council room!"

Tora's annoyance only thickened, his slight amusement at Yoshikawa being locked out of the room merely fading into the background. So, she was not only skipping out on her responsibilities, she was also still affiliating herself with this delinquent? Really. What she might see in him was beyond any kind of comprehension. Perhaps she was too lonely for her own good, or maybe she was just using him, but whatever the reason, she shouldn't be hanging around those useless types. They might end up rubbing off on her and sullying her value, and he couldn't have her being a part of _his_ Student Council if that was the case. And if she wasn't on the Student Council, then he wouldn't get the chance to observe her or tease her as much. Which was problematic, seeing as she was growing more and more interesting by the day as her perfect mask formed more and more cracks. He wanted to bend her will little by little, to witness her mask breaking completely and her lies all slipping away, only to leave behind whatever she hid underneath all of that.

Apparently, the kid following him was still running his mouth. Tora hadn't caught most of what he said though. "―also told me to apologize for her absence today. She was going to come, but I had to insist that she take a day of rest. Her conditions for agreeing to do so were that I gather up every bit of information that she'll be missing out on, so as I said, I need those notes. Preferably as soon as possible. I was gonna take it all over to her during a free period, which is right _now_ ―"

Tora wanted to just ignore the other completely and leave the matter alone, but now his mind was stuck on what the red-head had just said. Oddly enough, Renei actually seemed to be _relying_ on this guy. Not him, the person she is engaged to and who leads her and the rest of the Student Council, but some flame-haired, irksome, childish punk who's the leader of a ragtag band of misfits. There was no sense behind it, and wasn't she supposed to be a sensible person?

And, an unknown part of his mind added in, didn't she deserve better? The little girl with the shining smile― the woman who made a piano sprout wings― someone like that was clearly deserving of something more. Wasn't she like himself? In a league of her own? Or so his parents claimed...

No, if he were being honest, she _was_ in a league all her own. She matched him, talent for talent: the ability to charm others, the good looks, special skills, cleverness, and wealth. His parents had chosen her for him for that very reason. They made the perfect match.

Which is why it was so unreasonable, that she was continuously interacting with Yoshikawa, and his band. Perhaps this was how Maki felt when he had been interacting with Misaki and her group of friends. Maki had made it clear that Tora deserved more than a poor girl who had to work a part time job at a maid cafe in order to help her mother out with the bills.

But he hated being told what he deserved, and although Maki was partly right, more went into it than social hierarchy. The way he looked at it, Yoshikawa and Ayuzawa were completely different from one another, and the maid was more deserving of Tora's time than the guitarist was deserving of Renei's. Shin was richer than Misaki by far, but his character lacked interest, whereas she was just a commoner, however, she had one very interesting story to back her up and make her whole character intriguing.

The way he saw it, the two situations were different. And he would be less offended by Renei going to the flame-head for help instead of him, if said flame-head was actually worthy of her time. But he wasn't.

For the first time, the current situation made Tora feel legitimately wronged, unlike what he felt when Usui got in the way of his pursuit for Misaki. It was because Usui was good enough for Misaki, because Usui was the better match for her than him, that Tora hadn't actively continued to pursue her despite his interest in her. He backed down, tried to forget about the growing feelings he couldn't help but to have for her, because it was very clear from the beginning that it would be a losing battle for him.

Now as far as Shin and Renei went, for her to choose that kid over him in any given situation wasn't something he could just back down and allow. Why? Clearly because Tora was the one who was the better match for the girl this time around. He was the one who was supposed to win.

The shocking realization suddenly hit him hard― that some part of himself actually wanted what Usui ended up with. A clear win. A sense of validation that came from having a special, interesting girl that no other guy but himself could have, simply because no other guy was a good enough match for her. He was the only match for her.

For some reason, that felt oddly pleasing to think about. Having someone that no one else could have.

And then, having that be threatened... it was angering. He suddenly felt as though he were looking at the world through Usui's eyes for a moment. And while he didn't feel any sense of guilt or sympathy for being the one who had threatened that before, he did feel a lot more understanding of why the other blond was so overly protective of his maid.

This feeling of having someone threatening to take away what you know to be rightfully yours, what couldn't possibly be anyone else's because it would just be _wrong_ for it to be anyone else's... Hell, it was just so... _i_ _rritating._

Speaking of irritating...

"―Prez, are you even listening to me? This is important! And slow the hell down, wouldja?!"

Tora stopped walking then, abruptly becoming still. Unseeing golden eyes pierced the empty space in front of them, flickering for a second, then going dark with his next few thoughts.

"Prez?"

Why should any of this matter?

"President...?"

It shouldn't matter.

"Igarashi are you deaf man?! I need the damn papers for Renei!"

He wished that it didn't.

"Nakajima should be able to collect them on her own, whenever she decides to put an end to her disappearing act." His words were a calm that his mind had yet to achieve. And as Tora met the onyx black of Shin's wide eyes with a sharp look of his own that was almost fierce in appearance, it was very clear to Shin that this whole time he'd been poking a tiger with a stick. "Now, if you'll excuse me. This conversation has taken up far too much of my time already." He started to walk away again, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

Both boys immediately froze in place at the contact as the air chilled between them. A large boundary had been crossed with one simple touch, and silence consumed the two for one uneasy, breathless moment. Shin could have sworn that he heard a rumbling that was akin to a growl coming from Tora, although it could have just been his imagination getting the better of him. There was a feeling, though, that bothered him; a feeling that made it seem like he was about to be mauled by something wild. However, despite this sense of danger, his touch on the other's arm stayed there, certain in its lingering. His frustration with the blond was overruling his better judgment.

"You don't even know how she's doing, do you? You don't even care why she didn't show up today!" Shin's dark eyes blazed with emotion, his tone was filled with aggression, and that combined with his red hair and reddening face made him seem like a volcano that was in the process of erupting.

And the change from the red-head's usual harmless self to this volcanic display made Tora realize something.

Shin was the one holding his arm to keep him there, but in all actuality it was Tora who had a hold on the other. Obviously, this punk didn't like him as a person, and was bothered by the relationship he had with Renei, frustrated with how he treated her. The flaming idiot probably felt threatened by him, probably saw the whole situation as entirely unfair― out of the two of them, the one who cared more about Renei couldn't be as close to her as the one who cared less about her was.

Tora could have found it amusing, but instead he was aggravated even more. Yoshikawa felt threatened? He both had every right and yet no right at all to be feeling that way! On the one hand, if this were actually a competition, then the other boy should be feeling threatened. But on the other hand... Renei wasn't his to have, his to worry about, his to pursue. She just wasn't his to begin with. Which meant he had no right to feel as though Tora was a threat to him. He had no right to judge the blond and his betrothed, because he had no place in their situation. Whatever relationship Tora and Renei had, frankly it was none of his business, and nothing he could hope to be a part of. Because really, what was he to Renei when compared to Tora? It truly was no competition, something can't be a competition unless more than one person is actually competing for the prize; and Shin was hardly a competitor. Tora was the fiancé, and the red-head, he was... at the very least, some sort of errand boy. At the very most, a friend of Renei's. And nothing more than that. She was in a league of her own, a league that the guitarist wasn't even close to reaching. A league that he wasn't even remotely close to competing in with Tora.

The President suddenly felt the need to prove this to the other. There was pride in those obsidian eyes that he wanted to get rid of, something that said 'I'm a better choice for her than you are', and that pissed Tora off. That pride didn't even belong there, it should be replaced by a feeling of inferiority, a feeling of... intimidation.

A slow smile appeared on the blond's face then, and it had the kind of subtle, menacing twist to it that triggers goosebumps across one's skin and fuels the instinct to run. Shin stared at it with increasing trepidation, while Tora calmly removed the other's grip from his arm, switching the scenario so that he was the one holding the other by the wrist in a tight grip. "You're not wrong." He let out the words in a deceptively silken tone. "But matters that concern her are more my business than yours, aren't they?" All too easily, Shin's face fell after hearing that, much to his 'rival's' satisfaction. "So really, who should be the one out of the two of us, to be taking her the notes and homework? Who should be the one accommodating her?" He leaned in then, close enough to let the words sink in with a vicious sting. "Believe me, I am far more able to satisfy her needs than someone like you."

When he dropped the other's hand, it hung limply at his side. The boy had a broken look about him that made Tora feel shamelessly smug. He smirked as he started to walk away, finished with the little punk, leaving him to stand there feeling sorry for himself.

Shin did allow himself a moment of self-pity, a moment of feeling hopeless... Before he started to replay everything from the night before in his head. The way Renei looked at him with eyes that showed a little more trust, the way she allowed herself to open up to him, the way she smiled and complimented him on the dinner he cooked them, and how she fell asleep against his shoulder while they were listening to his band's music. That night, even if it was short-lived, she needed him. Not Tora, not her brother, but him. Shin Yoshikawa. Her friend. She was actually calling him that now, which was a big deal when it came to Renei. Maybe she didn't fully realize it, but she had put a lot of faith in him at this point. He had proven to be reliable, so it was about time she started believing that he was a safe enough person to express herself to. He may not be her fiancé, but as a result of their friendship, Shin got to see a side of her that was fragile, and raw... And he doubted Tora had ever seen that, but if the guy had, well... he wasn't deserving of seeing it.

He wasn't deserving of her at all.

That cocky blond may be finished with him, but Shin was far from finished. In fact, to him this was only the beginning. So he raised his head, and narrowed his eyes at the other's retreating back, feeling suddenly determined to show that bastard up in some way.

"Someone like me." He spoke up.

Tora didn't stop to acknowledge those words, and Shin tightened his hands into fists at his sides, urging himself to continue anyway.

"You mean, someone who has formed a real bond with her? Someone who she puts her trust in? Someone like me, who stayed up half the night keeping her company, while someone like you was probably out getting laid for the thousandth time? Hey Prez, you really think you're more _able_ than someone like that? You really believe that you're _better_ than all that? 'Cause I beg to differ." Shin ignored the stares of a few students walking by, and bravely fought on. "Who was the one she found it fit to rely on more, me or you? Out of the two of us, who did she ask to bring her the notes? Who did she welcome into her home, and sit talking with for hours? Who did she allow to nurse her injured hand?"

Try as he may to not let himself be affected by any of this, Tora found that the onslaught of questions seemed to be crashing into him like the waves of a tsunami. Needless to say this was annoying, but the most annoying part was when his legs stopped walking all on their own, and his mind went off track without his permission; conjuring up that image of Renei standing in front of him in a relatively simple evening dress, with wavy hair that was somewhat mussed and blush-burnt cheeks stained that way by alcohol, her eyes wide and staring at him in equal parts shock and perplexity while she cradled one of her delicate hands close to her chest.

 _"Are you going to let me see your hand or not?"_ He had questioned, and her next words had dismissed his help.

 _"No, I'll take care of it on my own."_

Sure, she thanked him as she walked away, so in some form or another she was grateful for what he did, saving her from Izaki that night. However, she completely disregarded his offer to help her with her injury. And supposedly, taking care of it 'on her own' was code for asking for Yoshikawa's help instead.

Something like that shouldn't matter to him, yet it did... And also didn't. At least, he wished more that it didn't.

"Her hand." It seemed his mouth now as well was acting on its own, and suddenly found it appropriate to start asking pointless questions. "You got a closer look at it?"

Shin was taken aback by the blond bothering to ask that. "Uh, yeah." He frowned and went on to answer Tora's follow up question that had gone unspoken. "It's pretty bad, just so you know. Although she didn't fracture the bone, there's some really ugly bruising, and she says it doesn't hurt too bad, but that's really a load of bullshit! It pains her to move that hand, even if she insists otherwise."

"Which is why you insisted that she not attend school today." Tora began to gradually find himself again, trying to regain his footing instead of staying stuck in his own turmoil.

"And it was harder than you'd think, getting her to stay put at home." The red-head grumbled out, oblivious to what was going on inside the other young man's head. "And now I still have to bring her the notes and stuff, so you should really just hand them over already."

Tora turned around once his emotions were collected behind his mask, and faced the other with a cocked eyebrow that spoke of trouble. "Then, to clarify, it's _your_ fault that she didn't show up for her classes and Student Council activities today?"

"The hell are you going on about now? Igarashi, the notes―"

"I think it's only fair then, that you be the one to take full responsibility for it."

"Wait, what?"

With a smooth, confident stride, Tora walked back towards the other and continued to speak in that cool tone of voice, "For today, you can be Nakajima's stand-in. I'll inform the others on the council of this temporary change, and they can rest easy for a bit while you take over some of the work load."

"Not gonna happen." The red-head was clenching his fists again, eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "You're forgetting, I still need to bring Renei her notes and stuff."

"I'll bring them to her."

Shin paused to stare at the other, dumbstruck for a moment, and then he barked back. "No way!"

"Oh?" Tora challenged. "And why not? Were you perhaps," His eyes sparked with a knowing glint, one of his canines appearing as he smirked. "planning to skip the rest of your classes once you got there, and spend the rest of the day with her?"

The other's face turned the same shade as his hair. That is exactly what he had been planning to do. "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't..."

For a short pause, Tora regarded the other through sharp, glinting eyes. Then the quiet was ruined when he spoke again, starting off in the direction of the Student Council room. "So it's settled then. You'll do us all a favor, and especially help out Nakajima, by doing some of her work. And I'll take on the chore of bringing her the notes and homework that she's missed for today."

"Hey, hey I never agreed to that! And you're not the boss of me, so I don't have to―"

"It would only cause trouble for her," Tora lowered his voice to a cold drone. "If you do not do as I say."

Shin shut up in order to consider those words, while Tora continued to walk, confident that the other would begin following him.

It wasn't long before he could hear the way the flame-haired boy was dragging his feet as he began to do move, and when he glanced back to confirm it, there was a pair of dark eyes that had taken to glaring daggers at him. "Don't look so angry with me about it, Yoshikawa. After all, you do only have yourself to blame for the current set of circumstances."

When the other merely grumbled something that Tora was sure was insulting, the blond looked away with a artful smirk curving the edges of his lips. "It will be good for you to try taking on some responsibility, for once. Nakajima would be pleased about it. I'll be sure to tell her how useful you've been to us, during my visit with her. Though I do hope she won't mind me barging in unannounced and spending time with her in place of you."

The insults were said a bit louder this time, and he could feel that the glaring had definitely increased tenfold.

xx

 _"Everything's easy, easier said than done_

 _Pulling a trigger is different than holding guns_

 _Everyone's pretty, hiding an ugly truth_

 _Deception is all around_

 _Watch it, you've cautioned now..."_

In the shower, Renei couldn't help but nod her head to the beat of the music as the water fell down around her. It was all too easy to enjoy the pull of Haru's haunting singing voice, to relax into the sound. Shin had left his music player with her overnight, so she could listen to her heart's content.

 _"Do you feel guilty?_

 _What are your prospects now?_

 _Are you even willing_

 _to try and figure out_

 _what you don't know yet?_

 _Tell me what life's about."_

There were only a few songs to listen to, and they were fresh recordings that hadn't been touched up yet, but she didn't care. Haru's vocals sounded amazing, although it was hard to believe that the mature voice belonged to Haru of all people, and the instruments that backed him up created some very memorable melodies... If this was what only a few songs sounded like raw, then she honestly couldn't wait to listen to the whole album once it was finished. The band really was working hard under both Masao's and Anna's tutelage.

 _"Perfection, does not exist_

 _Look at the distortion―"_

The music temporarily became muffled by water as she stepped back into the spray to rinse off whatever soap was left on her body or in her hair. Thinking about the band now... she was really beginning to wonder when Shin would get here with her notes and homework. She felt like he should be here by now. She couldn't really remember when she got in the shower or how long she'd been in (she kind of lost her mind to the music), but once she got out she'd have to text him and ask if he was still bringing her the worksheets she needed.

A few minutes later, she turned the water off and stepped out, wringing out her hair to the best of her ability and carefully wrapping a towel around herself, wincing whenever she moved her hand wrong. She'd forgotten to bring some clothes in with her, so she'd just have to change in her room. Renei grabbed the music player and opened the door, steam from the shower following her out into her bedroom as the song continued to play, now nearing its end.

 _"We're human right?_

 _And temptation's caught our eyes_

 _The holy water is on fire like our souls_

 _We are like dominoes._

 _We fall like dominoes..._

 _Holy water is on fire like our souls_

 _We fall like dominoes._

 _We're just like dominoes._

 _We all fall..."_

Setting the ipod down on her dresser right as the music faded into nothing, the brunette started to remove her towel; allowing the cool air to wash over her skin as the fluffy cloth slid half-way down her waist and almost over her hips, where she would have let it drop to the floor after that... but she stopped. An odd feeling was starting to bother her. The feeling of being watched, being stared at so intently that she could feel it― was she alone? The question set her on edge, quickly freezing over her every nerve ending.

"If you wanted to get naked in front of me, you should have told me sooner." A voice suddenly spoke up from behind. "I gladly would have joined you in the shower."

Renei nearly let the towel drop out of pure shock at those words, that familiar drawl. She was quick to catch herself though and pulled it back up over her chest before turning around with a startled, high-pitched gasp.

"Igarashi!"

He tsk'd at her from where he sat lounging on her bed, propped upright with the pillows and pretending to have been flipping through a random book he had pulled off of her shelf― when they both knew he had been staring at her naked back just a few seconds ago. His shoes were gone, probably taken off by the front door, and his uniform jacket was resting over the back of her desk chair near the bed. The collar of his dress shirt was loose, the first few buttons undone and exposing skin.

"You're squeaking, Nakajima." He sounded just as relaxed as he appeared. "Is your voice going to do that every time I catch you unawares?"

Renei's first response was to run over to him and smack the book out of his hands, demanding that he leave. Except, she didn't think it was the wisest course of action to get that close to him in her current attire, or lack thereof. And had she really just squeaked? She took a moment to clear her throat before trying to speak normally towards him, inwardly reminding herself to remain calm, keep a cool head, come across as perfectly unfazed...

"Where― no, how― wait, when did you...?" Stopping to bite her lip, her mind had to push itself to piece together a coherent sentence. "First of all," Despite her best efforts, her voice came out sounding strained. "Why are you here?"

He shrugged and offered a simple statement that didn't really answer her question. "Your bed is not uncomfortable."

"No." She glowered at him suspiciously while he flipped another page of the book, as if he were actually reading it. "I mean, why are you _here?_ "

"'Here' seemed like a nice place for me to wait."

Oh for the love of... she could see that small smirk at the edge of his lips, and that is exactly what drove her to raising her voice at him. "What business do you have in this apartment?!"

He finally looked up at her, arching an eyebrow in question. "A man can't pay his fiancée a surprise visit?"

The way he remained so calm yet managed to make her lose her head, along with the way he could effortlessly mask his true intentions, had never bothered her so much as it did right now. His face was like the cover of the book he was holding― plain, but still, it hid a story behind it. And she didn't trust it, or rather, him. Especially with the way those prying eyes of his were beginning to wander.

"Don't look." She insisted, covering her chest with an arm and further pinning the towel in place. "I'm not properly covered." One of her legs hid behind the other, while her injured hand twitched at her side, wanting nothing more than to throw something at that deceivingly handsome face of his. She felt unbelievably irked. He had a hidden agenda, she just knew it. The question was, what was it? Why did he come here? How did he time it so that she was in the shower when he got here? Well, maybe that part was just a coincidence. She cursed her bad luck.

"I'd prefer to do much more than look." The implication made her shoot him an incredulous glare, and he rolled his eyes. "Relax, woman. Why does everything always have to remain so prim and proper with you?" Despite assuring her to relax, he continued staring her down with no sense of shame; golden orbs like searchlights worked their way up her figure, starting from her bare feet, trailing along her bare legs, over the expanse of the towel, up to her collarbones, then that lissome neck, and finally reaching her fresh, blushing face... which was framed by a long tangled mess of wet hair. Unconsciously, he licked his lips and his smirk grew, a purr of assent passing through it. "Mmm, now this is a good look for you."

Renei ignored his sentiment and repeated her original question as an order. "Tell me why you're here."

Tora sighed as if _she_ were the one being troublesome, as if he had done nothing wrong by showing up at her home, in her bedroom, in her _bed_. "I came to bring you today's assignments from school." He made sure to catch her eye with his next words. "If you wish to thank me, just take off that towel and we'll get right to it _―_ "

She firmly cut him off. "You seem to be forgetting rule one: we will not have a physically intimate relationship."

"You're so persistent with that." He mused, then smiled in a false, charming way. "Since when did I ever agree to follow the rules?"

Her eyes narrowed, and Renei gave him a conflicted look. She wasn't quite sure if he were teasing her or being serious. "What does it matter, when you have countless other women to please you anyway? Even if I don't agree with it."

His smile grew harsh and he cocked his brow. "Jealous?"

She scoffed at the ridiculous notion, and pushed into the next topic before he started accusing her of anything else that wasn't in the least bit true. "Yoshikawa was the one who was supposed to bring me today's notes. What happened that left you being the one to do it instead?" She frowned. "What's more, should I be concerned about how you got in? You don't have a key."

Tora closed the book and tossed it aside, preferring to focus his full attention on the far better source of entertainment standing before him. "Yoshikawa got tied up with volunteer work at the school, so I offered to come here instead. And, it wasn't hard to get in once I acquired a key."

Renei gawked at him in disbelief, and she wasn't normally one to gawk, so it was quite the amusing spectacle in Tora's opinion. "Volunteer work?" She started _―_ that sounded so unlike Shin. But disregarding that for the time being, "Never mind that, you couldn't possibly have a key."

Reaching into his pants pocket, the blond pulled out a replica of the same key that she had for the apartment. Renei stared at it as if the existence of it was utterly impossible.

"But, Danno-san would never let you in." She continued weakly. She had warned Mr. Danno many times about the people she didn't want showing up here unannounced.

"I assume you're talking about that stubborn old man who at first refused to provide me with a key, and even went as far as blocking my way to the elevator until I explained to him who I am, and what problems may arise if he didn't cooperate with me." Tora's lips curved upward non-too-kindly. "Strange security measures, Nakajima. It's almost as if you don't want me paying you any visits."

Her anger clawed at her from the inside, fighting its way up to her eyes. How dare he go so far, threatening an old man just to catch her off guard like this in her own home? What was even the point behind it? He could have very well just left her alone and made Maki take on the task of dropping off her school work instead. "Were you never taught to respect your elders?"

"They're the ones who should be taught to respect me. I'm an Igarashi," He stated smoothly. "Respect is tied in with the name."

"Well _Igarashi_ ," She spoke as if that very name put a bad taste in her mouth. "You certainly could have called first."

His eyes flashed. "Likewise, you just as easily could have called me explaining your absence today."

There was an abrupt silence after that, since she was lost as to what she should say next. He was looking at her expectantly, and she was starting to piece some things together... That's right, she didn't call him... She didn't bother to explain anything at all, and left it all up to Yoshikawa to handle it for her. The apology and explanation, gathering the notes, that was all left up to the guitarist. Which clearly wasn't the best idea... Tora didn't like to be kept out of the loop, and she knew he would have wanted to be passed on the message directly, and not through another source, especially not Yoshikawa seeing as the two boys really didn't get along too well.

So then, this whole thing was... her fault? Thinking through it all, it seemed like it was. And Tora clearly thought that it was, so she was in some sort of trouble with him.

She should have told him what was going on, in advance. Or better yet, she should have just gone to school and carried out her usual duties, despite Yoshikawa's protests. But since she hadn't, now she was stuck here in her room; covered by only a towel while under the watchful gaze of the blond President, with the quiet empty space between them making the atmosphere feel tense and her throat feel dry.

And then out of nowhere he spoke again, in a dark, honeyed purr that completely threw her off guard. "You're dripping, Nakajima."

In the next moment, she found herself sputtering for air. "I― Pardon, I'm― _What?_ "

"Your hair." Tora clarified, with a now playful smirk on his lips that told her all too well how delightfully entertained he was by her reaction to his choice of words.

He wasn't wrong. The ends of her hair were still wet, and down near her feet, the carpet was damp from the water that had fallen there. Suddenly conscious of her bare feet, her cheeks flushed and she quickly spun around, searching through her drawers for something to wear. Anything would be better than this godforsaken towel, which left way too much skin exposed and made her feel all too aware of her body and her fiancé's presence in her room. They may be engaged, but he was seeing far too much of her and she wasn't okay with it.

"Upper left drawer, the frilly underwear with the black bow at the top." He prompted as she was fumbling around with her back turned to him again. "If you're aiming to impress me, pair those with the black bra in the next drawer over."

Her eyes flew to the drawers he was talking about, and she felt a tic go off in her forehead as if a vein had just popped. He couldn't have. She glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes widening at the all too serious look on his face, and that smirk. He did. He really did.

That unbelievably perverted bastard, how dare he?!

"If you were so bored while you were waiting for me," She tried to steady her breathing, slow her heart rate, calm down... but the embarrassment and anger was proving to be overwhelming. "There's a television in the lounge, there's even a library in the study, and also a music room. And yet," She grit her teeth, barely managing to keep her temper. "you came to my room and went through my personal belongings?"

"I have all of those things at my own estate and more, however, I've never been in your bedroom." Tora couldn't be bothered to care about the importance of anyone's privacy but his own, so even if she began to lecture him on that, he would merely find it amusing. "And I thought it was only fair that I snoop around in your personal things, since I caught you in my office once doing the very same thing." He stood from the bed, giving a slow, deliberate roll of the shoulders just as a lazy cat would do. "What's that old saying? 'An eye for an eye'." He caught her gaze with a pointed grin and leaned back against the bed frame, hands tucked in his pockets, one leg crossed over the other casually, appearing perfectly at ease as if this were actually _his_ room.

"And a tooth for a tooth." Renei couldn't help herself but to give into the urge to fight back. She felt violated, offended, all kinds of disrespected... if she didn't fight back, what kind of individual was she? He was mocking her, in her own home, her own room! He had been here for who knows how long, looking through all her stuff, relaxing on her bed, the place where she slept! It was completely ridiculous, uncalled for... Not to mention all sorts of maddening! And she wouldn't― couldn't _―_ just stand there and take it. She had warned him that she could bite, that she wasn't to be taken lightly, and it was all true. "I'll be getting you back for this, Igarashi, you can count on that..." Her voice was low and mostly wooden, with subtle traces of anger that had managed to slip through her control.

Tora fought the urge to smile as he noticed the storm that was brewing. Her voice lacked the levels of emotion that he was hoping for, but her eyes were sparking with the promising beginning of flames. And next would come the tidal waves. He craved to see her all riled up again, to watch firey purple and roaring blue clash in her eyes. He liked it. He wanted that from her. Wanted to see her lose control, and himself to be the one to cause it. There was something so very... satisfying about that. The thick layer of embarrassment in her blush, the quiet sound of her voice that hinted at an inner turmoil that was frustrating her to no end, it was all exactly what he had wanted to see, after he felt emotions similar to that earlier today when he had learned that she chose Yoshikawa's help over his. That _punk_ , over _him?_ No. She really shouldn't have done that, because now, he was paying it back in full.

An eye for an eye...

Tora moved away from the bed and began to walk toward her. "And just what is it that you're going to do, Nakajima? Break into my room, and catch me off guard while I'm getting out of the shower as well? If so, by all means..." He gave her a lascivious look that pretty much spelled out 'come and get it', a challenge sparking in his golden eyes.

The mere thought of him with his hair wet from the shower and nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist, showing off every muscle she was sure he had, smoothed over with tan skin that gleamed with stray water droplets... Was enough to cause her heart to start thundering faster, and her ears to suddenly become warm. Not fully understanding her reaction to that, Renei blinked several times and shook her head a bit, trying to rid herself of the image. She'd burn it away, if she could. Throw a whole lighted matchbox in with her brain. "As if I would want to see that." She tried her best to hide behind a smirk that wasn't nearly as confident as his, and when he continued to close the distance between them, she started to open it back up again by backing around the other side of the bed.

"Believe me," His voice acquired a more sultry tone, and he gave her a look that left her feeling smaller and smaller, as if she were shrinking and might be swallowed up by those mesmerizing eyes, and the deep sound of his voice. "You'd want to."

What she really wanted was to argue with him, to set some boundaries, lay down a billion other rules about privacy and personal space. But it wasn't likely that he would listen to her about any of it, and she still wasn't dressed, and the entire situation was more in his favor than hers. She had to regain some control, assert herself, do _something_ other than back away from him like a coward. "No, I wouldn't. I think we're done here Igarashi, so there's the door." She pointed to the other end of the room. "You can show yourself out."

"I think I'll stay for a bit..." He ignored her request and began to close in on her, smirking when her back hit the wall. She had accidentally cornered herself between her bed and her desk.

Renei fought a shiver and held her towel to her with her injured hand while her good hand reached next to her for the book he'd left abandoned on the bed. It wasn't really her weapon of choice, but it was all she had in case he decided to try anything weird. He must have completely lost his mind, or something along those lines, because she'd never seen that look showing so clearly in his eyes before _―_ like a predator ready to attack. Like he was going to... just like Izaki tried to...

Just as he was closing in and she was lifting up the book to smack him with it, a noise broke through the air and stopped them both in their tracks.

Tora looked towards the source of it, her laptop which sat open on her desk, and frowned. "What an annoying sound. Turn it off."

Thanking god for her sudden stroke of good luck, Renei shoved past him and moved to sit at the desk, focusing her attention on her laptop and the repetitive 'booping' noise that was coming from it. "I'm getting a video call." She announced as she looked at the screen. "From my brother. Which means you need to leave, right now." She sighed in relief.

Tora only shrugged, completely unconcerned. "Ignore it."

"Do you ever _not_ speak in demands?" She tossed a glare back in his direction. "I can't ignore it. I've already been ignoring him, and if I do it again he'll definitely freak out and maybe even come back to the city early. And he can't do that, because he's needed at home." Her glare morphed into a stern, serious expression, and he rose an eyebrow in the subtle bit of surprise he was capable of showing. "I can't very well kick you out if you have a key, but you need to at least leave the room. My brother can't know that you're here." When he opened his mouth to say something again, she cut him off with a snap, "I mean it, either hurry up and hide somewhere or just leave!"

Golden eyes regarded her with a bland shade of disbelief. "Do you truly expect me to hide?" It was a rhetorical question. He wasn't going to hide, so she shouldn't expect him to.

This time when Renei sighed, it was in exasperation. "If you won't get out, then yes. Just... think of it like... the games of hide-and-seek we played when we were kids."

Tora folded his arms, his smirk as self-superior as ever with his next words, "I never took part in those pointless games with you and your siblings." His gaze darkened. "Although I distinctly remember you hiding in my closet for a whole hour unnoticed, and that you tied all of my shoelaces together out of boredom."

Renei vaguely recalled that event, and fought the urge to smile about it now. Truly, she was a handful as a child. Always driving Tora mad... just like how he drove her mad now that they were older. Honestly, since when did he become the troublesome one? "Well your room was the only place I knew no one would look for me."

He rolled his eyes, remembering the way he had opened his closet doors only to meet the sight of a giggling little girl crouching there in a pile of his shoes. "That's no excuse for going into my room and messing with my belongings."

"Oh, you mean like you did to me today?" She immediately countered. "And for your information, there's no excuse for a child to not play hide-and-seek."

"I had better things to do with my time."

She had no answer to that, and the two of them glared at each other for one long, tense moment as the booping noise continued to fill the room.

"Well?" A minute passed before he was the one to break their staring contest and nod toward the noisy device. "Answer it."

"I can't," Renei groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she contemplated how satisfying it would feel to _kick_ him. She couldn't, of course, while wearing only a towel. But she imagined it would be _quite_ satisfying. "Not until you're gone."

Tora sat down on her bed and when she only continued to glare at him, he shrugged in dismissal. "Your brother can't see me here, can he? As long as you keep the camera pointed in your direction it's fine."

"You're really not going to leave," She sighed. "are you?"

When all he did was pick up the book again and start reading, she figured all she could do was hope he wouldn't say or do anything else while she was talking with her brother.

Collecting herself, Renei stuck a simple smile on her face and answered the call, watching with some surprise as all three of her siblings popped up on the screen.

"Renei!" Masao was the first to speak, in a frustrated tone. "What took you so long to answer?"

"She's in a towel and her hair is wet." Yumiko spoke up in a dry tone. "Obviously she had been in the shower."

"Rei, do you know the name of Masa's girlfriend?" Daisuke pushed forward so that his face took up most of the screen.

Her smile quickly became real, seeing the familiar faces of the twins, and Masao as well. Sometimes she forgot how much she missed them. "Sorry Daisuke, but that is classified information that Masao wouldn't want me to disclose."

The younger brother pouted while the older pushed his head out of the screen so that all three of their faces could be seen again. Masao was staring intently at Renei, and it felt as if she was being surveyed under a microscope. "Renei... What's that thing draped over the back of your chair?"

She frowned, perplexed. "What?"

Yumiko got closer to the screen, as if to better see whatever object Masao was talking about. "It looks like a uniform jacket."

"No." Masao sounded ready to strangle something with his bare hands. "It looks like a _boy's_ uniform jacket."

Renei glanced over at Tora, who looked back at her with an eyebrow arched and a look that said, 'I'd hate to be you right now'.

"Renei." She shot her eyes back to the screen her eldest brother was glaring through. "Explain. Now."

When Masao started speaking in one-worded statements, that usually was a very bad omen.

"You have nothing to worry about," She rolled her eyes at him, acting as if he were being silly. "that's Yoshikawa's jacket. Remember, he was here last night? He cooked us something to eat and we got some studying done, but he must have left his jacket here on accident. I'll have to give it back to him tomorrow at school."

The grip Tora had on the book tightened slightly. He hadn't realized it was true, what the punk said about keeping her company half the night. Were things like that always happening with him not knowing about it? Was it done on purpose, just to get under his skin? Renei was clever enough to come up with something like that, but he did doubt that she would pull innocent people into the games they played. Either way, it was... bothersome.

Before Masao questioned Renei more about the jacket, Yumiko spoke up. "Speaking of school, we were calling to ask why you didn't go today."

Renei stared blankly back at the screen. How did they know? Unless Shin told them, but he wouldn't have, he promised not to.

"You should have found a way to let me know Renei, but instead, I found out through Benjiro." Masao began, and she was really wondering, what did he mean by that? But then he went on to answer her unasked question. "When I called to have him let you know that we planned to video chat with you when you got home from school today, he informed me that you hadn't once left the building. Of course he assumed that you had the day off for some reason, but I know better. And you're not the type to just skip out on school, so what happened? Are you sick? Injured?"

Renei paled slightly as his questions just kept coming, but thankfully, she had already planned out an excuse for her injury ahead of time. "I was in the stables at Miyabigaoka, brushing down one of the horses I use, when the horse in the next stall over knocked over a bucket. The particular horse I used that day doesn't like loud noises, so it shied suddenly to the side, and my hand got pinned between the bars of the stall and the horse's shoulder." She held her bruised appendage up for them all to see, and grimaced at the looks on their faces. She could also feel Tora's eyes on her, so she quickly placed her hand down back at her side. "It really hurt, but I promise I'm fine. I didn't want to worry you by telling you about such a simple injury."

"You normally know how to handle horses better than that, so that's rather surprising." Yumiko was the first to respond, seeing as their brothers were still trying to come up with the right words.

"Well, these things happen. As long as you say you're okay, then I guess we don't need to wor _―_ " Daisuke was swiftly interrupted.

"I'm coming home."

Renei fixed her oldest brother in place with a firm look. "No, Masao. You need to stay there until you've done all that you can to help. You can't just leave without knowing that everything will be okay once you're gone."

"You're injured." Blue eyes fixed her with the very same firmness. "And you have no one to take care of you."

"I don't need someone to take care of me! Father, on the other hand..." She stopped herself, sneaking a glance at Tora. She didn't want to mention anything unnecessary around him. "...It's just a bruise, nothing I can't handle on my own."

When Masao opened up his mouth to argue with her, Daisuke was the one to cut in this time. "What about your boyfriend? Couldn't he take care of you?"

Renei wanted to smack her head against the keyboard knowing that Tora had heard that, and both Masao and Yumiko exclaimed at the same time, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"...Oh shit..." Daisuke mumbled, having forgotten how upset his siblings could get over Renei's well-being. They were the overprotective types, and it's not that he wasn't protective of his little sis, it was just that, he figured she was old enough by now to stop being handled with kid gloves.

Clearly though, his twin and older brother had yet to take off those gloves.

"You want her to invite the boy she's supposed to be romantically involved with into my apartment?" Masao began in a horrified tone.

"She can't use both hands to defend herself if he suddenly turns on her and attacks!" Yumiko chimed in with an uncharacteristic shriek.

"Who knows what would happen if we weren't there to supervise them..."

"What if they had sex?!"

"What if she got pregnant?!"

"What if the two of you _calmed the hell down?!_ " Daisuke, his eardrums bleeding from the way his two siblings were yelling at each side of him, pressed his hands into both of their faces in order to get them to shut up. "Renei is a big girl, and our parents wouldn't just set her up with some creep. I'm sure after all these years, Igarashi is nothing but a charming gentleman." He opened his eyes, which had squeezed shut somewhere during all of the yelling, and looked to his youngest sister to confirm his words. "Right, Renei?"

"Charming gentleman? I saw him standing far too close to her that first night she arrived in the city! He was practically about to kiss her, and they'd only just gotten reacquainted!" Masao was fuming, steam practically rolling out of his ears. It would seem being away from the city made his practiced control slip a little... or a lot.

Renei's face was dusted with a deep shade of rose at this point, and she had had to continually fight the urge to slam it down into the keyboard. Off to her one side, she could hear Tora's near-silent laughter, and it was then that she realized what a bad idea it was to let him sit there listening in on this call.

Meanwhile, during Masao's tirade, Daisuke was trying to get her attention. "Renei? Are you still there? Hellloooo? Did the screen freeze up or something?"

"I'm fine. Tora-san's fine. We're good." She bit her lip, cursing herself for her inability to act normal. Why was she so embarrassed? Her siblings (well, two of them) were the worrying type, so what? Tora shouldn't think that was so funny! Didn't he remember what they were like as kids? They didn't like sharing her. "Masao may have gotten the wrong impression of him that first night, but I can assure you guys that Igarashi is quite the gentleman. However, I don't think I'll ask him to take care of me, seeing as I'm doing perfectly well on my own here."

She was startled when her sister inched closer to the screen again, and it was hard to tell what emotion her eyes held in them. Knowing Yumiko, she was probably suspicious. She never thought too highly of men, (Daisuke's troublesome personality that she had been stuck with since birth was most likely to blame for that) which is why she wouldn't accept any of the countless offers she got to go out on dates. "What kind of man did snooty little Igarashi grow up to be, anyway? If he's the same snob he was as a kid, I suggest you just come home to us instead."

Renei sighed. "You know I can't _―_ "

Daisuke butted in to argue with his twin, "Have a little faith Yumi, Renei would tell us if he wasn't being good to her."

Guilt suddenly stabbed at Renei's heart.

"Despite what everyone seems to think about him, I for one, think she could find someone better." Masao muttered bitterly.

"Of course you do." She sighed, glancing over at Tora to see that he was staring back at her with a glare that was only half amused. What was his problem? He relied too much on his precious ego. It's not like these comments from her siblings should bother him to the point of getting mad at _her_ about it.

"Well, are there any other guys that have caught your interest?" Daisuke suddenly inquired, always excited about these sort of things.

Renei looked back toward the screen before Tora lost all amusement in his glare. "You really think I would move all the way out here to become closer with the man I'm supposed to marry, only to end up with a different guy? Maybe I've been away so long that you've forgotten, but I'm not exactly the flirty type."

Her youngest brother shrugged. "So? You don't have to be." He smiled at her knowingly. "All the boys will definitely be coming to you without you even having to say a word to them."

Yumiko promptly elbowed her twin hard in the gut, causing him to double over into a coughing fit. "Quit trying to turn her into you. Not everyone wants to be swarmed by amorous idiots."

"For your information," Daisuke wheezed. "My last girlfriend lasted at least a month!"

"Lovely. Should we provide you with a medal?" Masao quipped.

The two began arguing after that, something about respecting women and being with as many people as possible before settling down; it was an old argument that always picked right back up where it last left off. No matter what Renei or Yumiko tried to say, neither brother would stop, and when it came to the point when the violence started up, Yumiko got so put up with their antics that she grabbed a hold of Daisuke's long locks in one hand, and Masao's shorter locks in the other, tugged on their hair harshly and drew their heads together with a 'bonk!'. They each turned away with a pained hiss, cursing under their breaths while Yumiko focused back on the screen.

"I have more to ask you about your fiancé." She started, and Renei was quick to prepare herself for an interrogation. "Are you really getting along well with him?"

"Yes."

"So he's become more personable then?"

"Yes."

"Still blond?"

"Yes."

"Is he any good-looking?"

Renei started to say yes automatically, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. Tora... was sitting... right there... And he certainly didn't need a boost to his ego coming from her.

"Are you avoiding the question? Why do you keep looking off to the side?" Her sister asked, but Renei had momentarily lost track of the conversation.

He had a smirk on his face, that bastard. He wasn't even looking at her, he had his eyes trained on the book in his hands, but there was no way he wasn't listening.

"What, did he get ugly or something?"

Golden eyes shot up then to look right at Renei, daring her to answer that the wrong way, and her cheeks grew warmer for no reason while her discomfort skyrocketed.

"No."

"Are you attracted to him?"

Renei bit into her lip, hoping she could just dodge that bullet of a question. "Someone being attractive and you being attracted to someone are two different matters."

"That's true." Masao supplied helpfully, still rubbing a hand over the sore spot on his forehead. "Anyone can see that he's handsome, but that doesn't mean everyone's attracted to him."

"Well it's important to be attracted to someone you're going to spend the rest of your life with." Daisuke piped up, running his fingers through his silken tresses to make sure his twin hadn't pulled any of them out.

"Which brings us back to my last question. Renei," Yumiko looked so serious, as if this were a life-or-death situation. "Are you attracted to him? If not, then that's definitely a problem. Enough of a problem for you to come home, back to us, and call this whole thing off."

"Again, you know that I can't do that." She didn't dare look over at Tora now. Renei already knew he was staring at her, waiting for her answer. Smirking, and looking good while doing it. Heck, he could look good while doing anything, not that she'd ever admit that to him. It's not like she thought so highly of him or appreciated his looks so much, it's just, well, she was only noticing things that were true. Was he handsome? Yes. Was she attracted to him? Not so much his personality, but...

"If you just answer the question, Yumiko will stop hassling you." She heard Masao saying, and quickly had to cut her thoughts short. She needed to answer, even if Tora was there. It would be weird to keep avoiding the question. And her sister could be _very_ persistent. There was just no getting around it.

In the end, she panicked and as a result her response was mechanical. "I think that... he's structured... very well."

Silence... sweet, sweet silence met her ears, but then it had to break.

"What, like, bone structure? Or have you seen him naked yet? Like, he's got a nice body or something?"

"DAISUKE!" Masao and Yumiko immediately rebuked him for saying those things, while Renei had to make sure to quickly assure them.

"Of course I haven't seen him without his clothes on! What kind of woman do you take me for?" She breathed in deeply, and let it out in one quick go. "Looks don't matter anyway."

Daisuke scoffed. "Oh please. Next you're gonna say that size doesn't matter. And we all _know_ these things mat _―_ "

"She's just a kid, you idiot!" Masao was cringing visibly, and had a hand slapped over his brother's mouth to stop anything more cringe-worthy from being said.

"How many times to I have to tell you to use a filter? Don't just say those types of things so plainly like that!" Yumiko shot her other half a glare that brought about a whole new phrase: 'if looks could rip off your idiot brother's testicles and strangle him with them'.

Poor Daisuke just rolled his eyes, muttering into Masao's hand, something about being the only honest one in the family.

"I'm not... I mean..." Renei was desperate to end this now. She _had_ to end it before Tora blew his cover _―_ she could hear him snickering and was beginning to worry that someone would notice it. "I'm in my towel and it's cold, I need to go get dressed now. Thank you for calling me, I'm glad we could talk." She started to close her laptop before her siblings could make a bad situation worse.

"Wait a minute, Renei! We're not done talking yet!"

"Maybe after you get dressed you could call us back?"

She shook her head and offered up a half-smile. "I actually have a lot of homework to catch up on, so I'll be busy all day. I'll be tired after homework too so that wouldn't work either. We'll have to talk some other time, just not anymore today. Goodbye."

With those parting words, she closed her laptop, and her embarrassment threatened to eat her alive.

Just as soon as the call ended, Tora was laughing outright, no longer capable of holding it back. She sat there avoiding eye contact with him, finding herself surprised by the pure, rich sound coming from the guy who had her backed up against a wall earlier. Even if it was a pleasant sound though, she wished he would stop laughing at her expense.

"I really should get on with whatever work I missed at school today. Could you please leave?" After that encounter with her siblings, she had no energy left to deal with him.

"So," Tora spoke breathlessly, getting the laughter all out of his system with a few more chuckles. Gods, but that _was_ unexpectedly entertaining. Staying to listen in to the call turned out to be a rather good idea. "You think I'm structured well?"

He watched her flinch, delighting in the way her breath left her in an irritated huff. "Stop repeating nonsense. I only said that in order to appease them."

He tried to meet her eyes, to no avail. Apparently, she was determined to look anywhere but at him. _She's embarrassed,_ he thought to himself, and grinned. _How amusing_. "Aren't you just being shy? If you are worried about size, I assure you I am quite _―_ "

"I don't care." Renei made it a point to firmly interrupt, her voice full of disinterest. Clutching at the top of her towel, she stood from her chair and made to sweep past him, aiming for her dresser. "And I am not being shy, though what I have been is far too lenient with you. You need to go, Igarashi, and this is the last time I will ask. I need to get dressed, and then of course, there's homework to _―_ "

His hand caught a hold of her good one, stopping her beside the bed. In that moment something clicked, Renei realizing that Tora had gone far too quiet for it to not be suspicious... When she looked down at him, he had a grin on his face that showed both of his canines and made her forget everything but the basic instinct to run.

Like a trick of the light, his grin slipped into a wolfish smirk when their eyes met. "Then if you aren't shy, shall we see if you are structured to my liking as well?" Renei made it so far as opening her mouth to give her answer, when the next thing she knew, Tora flicked his wrist and pulled her completely off balance.

She fell against him, making the bed bounce as she sprawled awkwardly in his lap. Automatically, her free hand went to fix the towel in case it had started to slip off, but he grabbed that one in a tight hold as well. She bit her lip against the pain that bloomed from the place that he grabbed it, while he took a closer look at the bruises on it. She tried to jerk away, and this time her lips parted as she cried out softly.

"So it does hurt." He said, mostly to himself.

"Let. Go." Renei seethed, very obviously upset with their current positioning, although she did not try to struggle any more, for fear of her towel falling away.

"Hmm..." He continued staring at her hand, inspecting it like a doctor would. "Looks like you bruise easily. I wonder how long it will last..."

"Is there a _point_ to this?" Despite holding still, Renei could feel her towel was beginning to slip off to one side on her thigh, exposing more skin, making her hyper aware of hers and Tora's proximity. Also, her hand hurt and she was beginning to wonder if he was grabbing it like that on purpose in order to make her suffer. "If you wanted to see my hand, I would have let you."

Tora almost asked her why she didn't let him see it that night, why she ignored his offer to help her, why she accepted another man's offer to help her... but he thought better of it. He didn't want to appear weak, he wanted to make her feel like the weak one. "I'm going to ask you again, what your sister asked you." He looked down at her face, and saw a fraction of vulnerability there, breaking through her mask. There was sweat on her brow, and she kept biting her lip to cut off any pained groans that she might emit. He had her right where he wanted her. "Are you... attracted to me?"

"What? Let go of me, this is ridiculous..." Her voice faded when he leaned in closer and smirked like the cat that caught the canary, and was about to swallow it down in one go.

"Answer the question truthfully and I will."

When her response was nothing more than a gaping mouth and astonished gaze, he only pressured her more. "Could it be that you're only capable of speaking lies? Or is it that you actually like being this close to me?" He purred, keeping his voice low and lethal. "Which is it, Renei?"

"Don't," She huffed, her chest rising and falling distractingly with the action. "call me that. It doesn't sound right, coming from you."

And yet, that red-haired idiot got to call her that all the time? How was that right? "I'll call you anything I wish to call you, and do anything I wish to do to you." His eyes lost hers as they looked to her lips, her neck, shoulders, collarbones, and lower still... suddenly the towel seemed like a hindrance. "In fact, I have half a mind to kiss you right now."

Panic was the only way to describe the look that passed over her face then, and she seemed incapable of forming words for a moment, before she found just one. "Don't!"

"But of course," He smirked. "I won't." He wouldn't kiss her, well, not full on the mouth at least, with that threat hanging over his head about how she could bite. He had no doubt she _would_ bite, if given the chance... Speaking of biting, he wanted to grab the edge of that towel between his teeth and drag it away from her skin. And then, there were other things he wanted to be grabbing between his teeth. "If you fail to answer me though, there will be consequences." He allowed one of her hands to be free for a moment, so that he could trace an invisible line with his fingers down her neck, down further still until it reached the top of the towel, which he lightly tugged at so that she got the idea.

Her panic was now mixed with a fierce anger, and with her good hand free she did what she could to push him away. "Igarashi! You can't just do whatever you want, to whoever you want, whenever you feel like it! Have you no respect for yourself? A respectable person wouldn't be doing this!" Before her fist could make it very far, he was quick to stop the blow from connecting with the side of his jaw.

Tora suddenly had Renei fixated with a wicked smile, the kind that doesn't quite reach the eyes. "Just for that, I think I'll tease you until you give me what I want."

Her eyes widened.

He leaned in...

...and proceeded to break the first rule that she had set in place at the beginning of their games.

Tora moved so that she was pinned between him and the bed, and placed his lips on the curve of her shoulder, nipping at it lightly. He would start out going easy on her, for her sake. She really should be grateful.

Renei suffered a full-body shiver at the soft warmth brushing against her. Her hair was still damp, and her skin was close to freezing, which just made the feeling of Tora's lips and the heat of his body over hers stand out in way too sharp a contrast. He mumbled something against her skin about stupid rules, but she quickly forgot about it as he started to move from her shoulder in toward the expanse of her neck. She opened her mouth to rebuke him for his actions, but then his mouth opened as well, and hot breath was streaming across the hollow of her throat. She went rigid in his grasp and lost her voice, unable to fathom why there was a tingling feeling leftover from something as silly as him breathing on her.

Why was he doing this? She didn't want this.

"Wait a minute―"

He bit down, swiping his tongue across the smooth skin he was met with. When that didn't get more than a stuttered breath from her, he decided to see if she really did bruise easily, and sucked lightly over the spot. Small nips followed that, and once he had left a mark there, he moved on to generously laving her whole throat with attention. A bite here, a gentle brush of his lips there; anything that would tease her, anything that would bring her to the point of begging him for more.

For a brief moment, Renei made some sort of unrecognizable sound at the back of her throat and flexed her hands, trying to cling to him. He let her, freeing both of them so that she could ruin the crisp fabric of his dress shirt with her clawing fingers. He didn't mind. He rather liked the feel of her clutching at him like this, and he was far from caring about little things like a wrinkled shirt.

"Igarashi―" It wasn't surprising to hear that her breathing was labored already, and he reveled in her gasp when he started nipping further down her skin. "Cut it out―"

He payed her body more attention than her words, letting his hot mouth continue in its work. While trailing light kisses over her collarbones, occasionally his tongue would glide out to taste across her skin; meanwhile his hands moved down to hold her rolling hips, which he hadn't noticed were trying to get out from under him rather than get closer to him. He smirked when she jolted at the feel of his thumb drifting over her bare thigh. "Do you even remember what the question was, or are you incapable of thought at this point?"

The smug sound of his voice along with her own sense of panic is what kept her from completely becoming a victim to his charms. "I don't see why such a thing is important," She ground out through her teeth, trying to ignore the small circles he was tracing over her thigh and the way he sucked at the skin just below her collarbone, closer to the edge of the towel. "Whether I'm attracted to you or not, it shouldn't matter!"

That's right, a part of him recalled. It shouldn't matter. It really, truly shouldn't, not with her, the woman he was eventually getting rid of. But if he could enjoy it this much, just holding her against him and touching her so simply, almost innocently compared to how he usually touched other women; if he could want it this much, why couldn't she as well? Why should it only be him? He wanted her, and he wanted her wanting him. He was desirable, and since they were engaged he was technically supposed to be hers, so she should at least _try_ to take advantage of that, because he was certainly going to.

It was strange, how he felt two different urges at once. On the one hand, he wanted her to _need_ him, just like every other woman did. And when she sought after him so much that it became a bore, that's when he could move on again. And yet, something in him also wished for her to stay and learn to _want_ him. Instead of needing him for the marriage and the sake of protecting her special someone, he wanted her to want him. Not wanting his money, or sexual favors, or anything like that― just purely wanting _him._

Similar to the way Misaki felt about the Walker boy. Knowing him only as Usui, she'd fallen for him, she wanted him without even knowing about the family he came from and the wealth that came with it. He wondered what that must feel like.

Yoshikawa's words were coming back to him suddenly, managing both to annoy and confuse him.

 _"Someone like me. You mean, someone who has formed a real bond with her?"_

A real bond? Is that something that he wanted?

No, what was he going on about? _This,_ he thought to himself as he grazed his teeth over the cool skin of the girl below him and inhaled the scent of whatever soap she had used earlier in the shower, was what he wanted. And only he was allowed to have it.

One of his hands crept further up the towel between her legs, while his teeth latched onto the top of the towel and began to drag it down. Soon enough, it would slip away from her body completely. A growl rumbled deep in his throat at the thought.

"Igarashi, I want― to stop―"

Why should he stop, when she was all his? If something was his, he could do whatever he wished to do with it. Anyone else who desired her be damned.

"Listen to me Tora! I said STOP!"

Her screaming his name, and not in the way he had imagined it, brought him out of his stupor. There was a confusing moment where his grip slackened and his head pulled away slightly, and then she pushed him off of her, and he landed on the floor.

Renei scrambled to adjust the towel around herself, and he was just starting to stand up when a stinging slap jerked him. He froze with eyes wide, trying to find his bearings. Everything had changed in an instant.

The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

" _Get out_."

Her voice left no room for argument, and if that alone hadn't gotten the message across to him, then the red slash she'd issued across his face had certainly done the trick.

"That was," He murmured, searching for his words while rubbing his sore cheek with a hand. "the most fun I've had in a long time." He stood up and collected his jacket from the chair, taking his sweet time pulling it on over his rumpled shirt so that he had the chance to study her.

The picture she made, kneeling on the bed wrapped up in a towel, was a thing of dreams _―_ the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, her heavy breaths, the flush to her skin, that hickey on her neck, and the way her body trembled as if it could feel leftover traces of his touch _―_ was a feast to his hungry eyes. It satisfied him, for now. But he did have to get back to the school, and he had most definitely overstayed his welcome here. Not that he was welcomed in the first place. Not that he cared.

Renei didn't say so much as another word to him as he turned to leave, and he didn't pester her to actually answer his burning question. He had already suspected her answer, anyway, and this had all mainly just been for fun. "Your papers are on the table in the lounge." He informed, adjusting his collar as he walked out the door. "Oh, and Renei." He didn't have to look at her, to know that she cringed when he said her name. "I advise you to show up tomorrow, unless of course, you want a repeat of what happened today."

He disappeared quickly after that, the scent of cherry blossoms and fresh soap lingering on his clothes even after he left the apartment.


	18. Just Like You

A/N: So apparently, there's this thing that happened that's really awesome but I'm so behind the times so I didn't find out about it until the last minute :P

These two beautiful, talented lovelies: **violet167** and **WhiteAngel83** hosted an awards ceremony for the Maid-sama archive and the voters put me in 2nd place for favorite 2016 author and this story placed 3rd in favorite Romance/Drama! It was so exciting! I was so happy X'D

Anyway, I'd like to thank **Bailey webster** and **MistWizard** for nominating me, and also anyone else out there who did! (I have no idea who else did) It's all over now but yeah, I thought I'd mention it cuz I just found it very exciting :3 And the other nominees were so totally awesome too, in my eyes all of the authors and all of the stories that were suggested are winners *heart*

Moving on: I hope ya'll like this chapter. I'm so tired after writing it I don't really know what happened.

P.S - Writing Maki's character can be difficult because I never paid much attention to his character :/ Honestly, I've never quite known what to make of him so I write him as I assume he should be. I guess it works though?

Also I feel like someone's going to ask about Sanyu at some point, since she hasn't really done much in the story. Maybe I'm the only one thinking about little things like that, I dunno, but anyway I've got plans for her in the future so just sit tight and wait it out.

Oh my god. When I went back to proofread, I realized, I used so many idioms in this chapter. Apparently, idioms are quite important to the English language, I mean I've never noticed how much myself or others use them before, but wow. Wow. Now I'm noticing. Also, this was a stupid little tangent to add in -_-

Reviews: If you guys tell me that you really want me to keep responding to your reviews, then I will, but for now... my brain is fried, it's really late, I have work in the morning. I love you all, and I am so happy to have your support, but I don't think I have it in me to respond to all the reviews right now. I don't even know if it's fully necessary, I normally just do it for fun since I like interacting with everyone... anyway, I'm gonna stop for now, but just know that you all have my thanks and my love and I'm sending you all the best wishes tonight right before I fall into a totally drooly, ungraceful, death-like sleep. Zzzzzz...

CK:*

* * *

"I could be mean  
I could be angry

You know I could be just like you

I could be fake  
I could be stupid

You know I could be just like you

I could be cold  
I could be ruthless

You know I could be just like you

I could be weak  
I could be senseless

You know I could be just like you."

― Three Days Grace, _Just Like You_

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Just Like You

...

"What is his problem?"

Maki currently found himself stuck between a wall and the Student Council Secretary, having been intercepted on his way out of class. The young woman was standing before him now with arms crossed and one foot tapping against the tiled floor, creating a sharp and repetitive 'clip clip clip-ing' sound that echoed around their heads. Other students passed them by without noticing them, seeing as they were tucked into a shadowy corner where two walls met.

He brushed aside a few straying wisps of his long hair and met her eyes with a small smile. "I'm afraid I do not know what you mean by that, Nakajima-san."

"Igarashi. He showed up at my apartment yesterday and..." She seemed to be searching for the right word. _"Attacked_ me in my bedroom."

In the face of her approaching such a delicate topic head on, Maki could do nothing more than stare blankly back at her as he worked this new information over carefully in his mind. He was not necessarily surprised by this sudden turn of events; in fact, a smart man would have already been assuming that something like this might happen, after watching the way Igarashi and Nakajima reacted to one another.

Frankly, Maki was wondering more about why he had to be the one singled out by Renei. He preferred never getting caught in the crossfire when dealing with Tora's many difficult relationships; romantic, business, or otherwise.

"You're not going to say anything to that? Well seeing as he's probably not going to give me one himself, how about an apology, then? For what your 'friend' put me through." The brunette was stubbornly persistent on this matter, like an angry whirlwind that Maki had, Lord knows how, found himself caught up in.

Could he very well blame her for the way she was acting, though? She _had_ fallen victim to Tora's harassment, and if that didn't incite such obvious vexation, then Maki didn't know what did.

For the record though, he had given her fair warning, which was more than he could say he'd ever done for any of Tora's other 'projects'.

"I'm sorry to hear about what's happened." Maki spoke in the kind of reverent tone one would normally reserve for a funeral. "At times, the President's actions can be a bit..." Now he was the one searching for the right word. "Ill-considered."

Renei's foot stilled in its tapping and one of her eyebrows shot upwards. "Ill-considered? Try absurdly misguided and wildly inappropriate! He's a ruthless, senseless... Lecher!" She huffed, making absolutely no attempt to turn down her temper, feeling that her anger was fully justifiable.

The Vice President held his tongue as he was about to inform the other that, since she and Igarashi were promised to one another, it might not be as inappropriate as she so claims it is, for them to be intimate. And also, exactly _what_ had she been expecting? Tora was a shameful opportunist, and Renei was Ms. Sense and Sensibility. One of them was going to wind up rocking the boat eventually, although Maki had expected his friend to hold out for a lot longer than this. Tora was usually patient... the key word being usually. Something this time around had obviously set him off, and the ravenette had some queries about what it could be that caused this little particular event.

No matter how impulsive or unsettling it seemed, there was always a reason behind Tora Igarashi's actions.

"If need be," He bowed forward slightly, turning his attention back to soothing the blond's irate fiancée. "I'll do what I can to help you reconcile with him."

If his generous words had affected her in some way, she didn't show signs of it. Renei was standing there before him as solid as a rock, the only expression showing through on her face being in the furrowing of her brow and the sharp, fiery quality of her eyes. As things currently stood, Maki had very little faith in his abilities to move her aside; at best, he could carve away her hard exterior and smooth everything over to the best of his abilities, until she decided to move on from this of her own accord.

"Reconciliation is not what I'm needing." Violet eyes went dark with something that spoke of a deep, unruly frustration, and a lesser man than Maki would have begun to sweat under such a penetrating gaze. "I need an advantage."

"As I've said before, I don't think you will be able to get what you want from him. Even with any advantages―"

"Well I don't believe that."

Maki continued through her interruption. "― you will still be fighting to keep your head above rising water."

"Then I'll stop trying to fight it." If it were possible, he thought he saw her gaze sink to even darker depths, and had there been any mischief in her tone to equal that darkness, she would have easily reminded him of Tora. "I'll just learn to breathe underwater instead."

The raven-haired young man raised an eyebrow ever so slightly in surprise. At first glance, he would have never expected this woman to be so tenacious. Her main strength laid in her ability to persevere, and it was admittedly impressive; especially after whatever stunt he could only imagine that Tora had pulled at her apartment. Perhaps this strength she harbored was part of what had come to intrigue Tora? No wait, intrigue was one thing, but going so far as to make a physical advance on her out of nowhere... something must have spiked the blond's craving. Or quite possibly, someone?

"I believe that implies that you are sinking down to his level." Maki, with his mind still mulling over the facts, kept up the conversation between them smoothly. "From what I've noticed, you have so far refused to believe that he could manipulate you in such ways. Does this mean you are finally giving in, Nakajima-san?"

At that, Renei released a troubled sigh, uncrossing her arms and fiddling with the bandage over her bruised hand. She thought back to the cause of the injury, and it made her stomach turn in on itself. Thinking about the way Izaki had attempted to touch her only reminded her of how Tora _had_ overstepped that boundary, and then the confusion set in, because... He was the one who had saved her from Izaki in the first place, wasn't he? He had showed some form of concern for her, fussing over the injury at first. But the next time he saw it he was handling the injury with the intent of drawing pained reactions from her and commenting on the bruising in a sick, sadistic sort of way.

One moment, he was trying to help her, and the next he was trying to entertain himself with her suffering.

It made no sense.

And Renei really hated it when things didn't make sense. Not to mention, she didn't exactly enjoy being manhandled either. This whole recent set of events had just left her feeling... different, like her outlook had changed. She never wanted to be placed in such a position, feeling the need to change her strategy, even going so far as to think that playing dirty was the only way to win. That _was_ sinking down to Tora's level, was it not? But, surely it _wasn't_ giving in. Or was it? For all she knew, her pride could very well be clouding her ability to see things clearly.

It was hard to admit it, but she had realized that she was always far too prideful. Quite possibly, it would serve to be her downfall, in a dangerous _game_ like this. Thinking back on it now she of course should have been more careful, should have paid closer attention to Maki when he had warned her about her fiancé's capabilities. Tora was doing things that she hadn't expected he would go so far as to even think about attempting. From the beginning she had figured that he was pretty bad but not bad enough to overstep boundaries, if she clearly told him what they were. But that was such a gullible way of thinking, and it was obvious now that her expectations were too high and her faith in the rules had been misplaced, at least when it involved Tora Igarashi― who clearly had no respect for rules and hadn't the slightest care in the world for someone else's boundaries.

Blackmailing her via her friends, fishing around in the relationship between she and her mother, and finally, breaking in (that's how she saw it, even if he had a key) to her brother's apartment and ambushing her in her own bedroom; as a result of her foolish assumptions about him, she wasn't prepared for any of it. He was definitely unashamed and unafraid to go too far, and now that she'd witnessed it firsthand, she knew that the way he played was without any limitations.

That being said, it's not as though she wasn't able to keep up with him! She may prefer to play by the rules, to have a set of laws that help to create some semblance of order and discipline (things were safer that way, easier to handle), but be that as it may, she had every capability (more or less) to disregard her preferences and perfect a whole new strategy that was foreign to her. If she had to learn to step out of her comfort zone now, then so be it. If she put her mind to it she was capable of the same things that Igarashi was... Probably. She could very well attack him with her own cunning manipulations, if she planned it correctly... Or so she hoped.

The beginnings of self doubt were starting to creep into her mind, and Renei didn't like it.

With her busy with such an intense, silent contemplation, Maki had more focus to think. Now, who could have riled the President up, to the point of making a move on Nakajima? It was unexpected, though not unprecedented. The blond was usually composed, but there were qualities of his that had the tendency to overshadow that. Things like, possessiveness, and pride. If he had felt threatened in any way, for example, he would want to quickly assert himself in order to ensure what was his _remained_ his, which would in turn save his pride.

Ever since Misaki Ayuzawa, Tora struggled with that more often than before. If someone came along, like Takumi Usui, and tried snatching an item of even the slightest interest away again, the President would quickly move in on whatever he had his eyes on before whoever else had their eye on it could get to it first. Everything was a race to the finish now, because he wasn't going to allow himself the humiliation that came with having another prize snatched out from under him for the second time.

Maki knew that Tora hadn't quite gotten over that, because he still seemed to harbor some sort of... something for the maid girl. Perhaps it was just that he needed closure, more than anything else. Due to the fact that she had been so interesting what with her 'secret double life' and all, and how that interest only went further when she was 'the one that got away'― it couldn't be helped that Tora wanted to still, in a word, _obtain_ her.

However it was doubtful that Tora was harboring any actual, real feelings for Ayuzawa. He'd only known the woman for a brief moment in time, got caught up in a fleeting game with her, and continued entertaining the idea of it out of some bored sense of curious craving. It was unhealthy; what professionals might call an obsession. She was prey, another rabbit to hunt, another name to check off his list. And he had never really had much competition before, so a man like Usui was only adding more bait to the end of the line, making things all the more _interesting_.

With Usui and the maid becoming closer though, Maki wasn't sure what it was, but Tora had developed a sort of distance from them. He watched from afar, only getting involved occasionally. Either he was disgusted or annoyed by their thriving relationship, or, quite possibly there was a part of him feeling envious. Amusement, of course, was somewhere in the mix as well, and Tora seemed to draw from that more than anything, mocking them and playing with them as a cat would with mice. He studied them too, quite thoroughly, through keen eyes that seemed to be trying to learn something from the odd couple. And so the obsession wasn't just laced with Ayuzawa, it was tied in with Usui and their relationship as a whole. Maki could look back and recall the days when Tora would take the time out of his schedule to visit Seika High or Maid Latte 'for fun', looking confident with his smirk in place on the outside while inwardly, he was probably unsure about why he was even there, what he was even doing.

Not that it mattered much anymore. Most of that was pretty much forgotten at this point. The blond had a sharp focus that usually pinpointed one thing at a time; being as busy as he was, he had to pick and choose what took up the most of his attention. So now that Nakajima had been brought into the mix, Tora had very little time to waste on the two lovebirds at Seika High anymore. Quite obviously, his attention had been derailed, and a new set of tracks had formed for his thoughts to follow... in the direction of Renei.

With a watchful, snake-like gaze, Maki allowed his eyes to freely travel over the young woman standing before him. Over all... He would agree with Tora's parents on this match-up. He found her to be a far better fit for the blond heir than Ayuzawa, or any other woman from Tora's past, really. There was just something about Nakajima that made her seem like she was the best possible fit for him, albeit, if they were two pieces to a puzzle both of their edges were rough and hard to try to fit together. But, once you got them to interlock, the whole rest of the puzzle came together quite nicely around them.

The problem was getting them to interlock, to work together. It was odd, how two people could be so suitable for each other yet be just different enough that those differences impeded their progress.

"Of course I'm not giving in." Her voice met his ears again, ringing with tones of determination, which he wasn't surprised by in the least. She wouldn't be interesting enough for Tora, if she just rolled over in compliance.

Maki let out a barely audible sigh while continuing to furtively peruse the girl. Despite the interest it held, it was this stubbornness of hers that was partly responsible for hindering the relationship. He had to wonder when she and Tora would both stop rocking the boat, and choose to help each other steer it instead. It would take some time, and much work, he was sure.

Renei was unaware of what was going through Maki's head, but she didn't miss the exasperation that escaped him in a sigh. It was rare, him showing any sort of emotion through his secretive smile and squinting eyes, and she really failed to see how he might think that _she_ was being frustrating. It was Igarashi who was the frustrating one!

Thinking he could change her to his liking, thinking he could manipulate her into submission... She had told him, time and time again, hadn't she? That he wasn't going to alter her in any way, that she was strong enough to take him on. Renei would not allow Tora to have any sort of advantage over her for long― she couldn't afford to. Which was why she was trying to figure out a better way to play these games, but that was hard to do without somehow changing herself like he had told her she would end up doing.

Maybe though, an annoying voice of reason kept insisting, she wasn't capable of winning by playing her way...

So what was she supposed to do? Forget any restrictions she would usually place on herself, which would probably get in her way, and play the game Igarashi's way? Right now, she was on a definite losing streak, which irked her. But she didn't want to change, especially not for him. Although it couldn't be called a complete change, since all Tora was really doing was unearthing bits and pieces of her that were already there... just hidden deep down after she had spent years carefully trying to bury them. She really wished she could keep playing if safe, sticking to a perfect facade of calm and collected and ignoring all the rest, but that blond lecher wasn't having it. Everything he did, seemed to be done to drive her mad, to pull her further away from sanity and security. Again, Renei kicked herself for making more foolish assumptions; she had been so convinced that she'd be able to handle anything he threw at her. But that's only because she hadn't expected him to push the boundaries so much.

And now she was stuck dealing with overwhelming things that she'd rather be pushing away, like anger, frustration, worry and doubt. Insecurities, fears, things she hadn't allowed herself to feel in such a long time were all coming back to her now, making her weak. She needed to learn to get a handle on _all_ of her emotions, not just the ones she liked to feel but the unpleasant ones as well. If she didn't... She would continue to be an easy target. And he would press his advantage on her until she finally broke down completely.

As if that would actually end up happening though. Renei Nakajima was not the type to break down and quit; she always completed what she set out to do.

However her optimism at the given moment was more than a bit lacking. This whole thing with her fiancé was confusing her in ways she'd never been confused before. She felt things differently with him, more intensely. When they argued, she lost her smooth composure and just let loose whatever emotions were bubbling to the surface. When he got close to her, taunted her, placed his hands on her... No, she didn't even want to know what that feeling was. It felt like a trap.

Tora, he was a disease― to the mind and the body― that had crawled its way into her system and Renei hated that she couldn't seem to fight it off without taking some level of damage in the process. But she had to press on, to try learning from him and then outsmarting him, so that she could turn the tables. Unfortunately, this would not be easy on her, which meant she had to make it equally as hard on him; it was one of those 'if I go down then I'm taking you with me' scenarios. It always had been, she just hadn't been taking it as seriously as she was in this moment.

If it wasn't for her family and her own stubborn resolve, she would have backed out of this after what he did to her at the apartment. She respected herself too much to ever be put in a situation like that again. This was certainly not the healthiest of relationships, and definitely not ideal, but it was her mother's wish to see this through... And besides that, Renei had already decided early on that if she had to struggle through hell with him in order to achieve her end goal, then she would. And she wasn't about to go back on her own word. In fact, she'd do whatever it took to win this 'game' now, because she would like nothing more than to make Tora show her the respect that she deserves.

"Maybe I've always been at his level, and I just never realized it." When she met Maki's eyes again, the words flowed freely from her mouth, spilling forth out of seemingly nowhere. And she was both certain and uncertain of what they meant.

Maki just about smirked― was there really ever any doubt that she and Tora were cut from the same cloth? "I would say that I agree."

It was not so much his response that surprised her, but his tone. He had sounded amused. "Is something funny, Vice President?" There was hidden malice in her words that he knew was best to try to avoid addressing.

"No, nothing." The raven-haired young man paused for a moment, regrouping and backtracking. "Earlier, you mentioned something about needing an advantage? May I ask how you plan to gain the upper hand?"

"That," For a moment, her eyes seemed to sparkle, filled with an excited new light, nearly mischievous. "is exactly why I came to you, Maki-san. I need to rethink my strategies in order to turn things my way."

He looked genuinely surprised as he caught on to what she was getting at. She really was sinking to a new level, namely, Tora's level. "You wish to take a page out of his book."

"Correct."

"It is not a rule book, Nakajima-san."

"Yes, I've... I've come to terms with that."

"He doesn't have much of a moral code."

Renei quirked an eyebrow at the word 'much'. "So I've noticed."

"Nakajima-san." Maki tilted his head to the side a bit, his hair swaying with the movement as a perplexed frown took over his features. "I honestly do not find you capable of letting go of your own moral code."

"I feel that I am being underestimated." Her eyes narrowed. "Igarashi is a rule breaker, right? If last night was any indication. Which means that I either have to make better rules that he isn't capable of breaking, or break a few rules myself. And as the saying goes; 'you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet'."

Maki couldn't help but think that would end up being one very messy omelet. Did she even know what she was saying? "You are free to do as you wish, of course, though if you are asking for my help then I respectfully decline."

"Maki-san, if you could just listen to what I―"

"It would be boring."

She blinked at him. "Excuse me, but... _Boring?_ "

He continued as if reciting something from a script. "Asking for outside help instead of finding your own way to play makes things become dull. If you are so determined to win, you'll have to prove yourself on your own. If I were to interfere it would only ruin the game." He offered her a simple smile, as if she should just readily accept all of that, because it was just the way things were.

"Unbelievable." Renei closed her eyes for a moment, trying to control a strong bout of frustration. "This really is all a silly game to him, just― just _play time_ , isn't it? Igarashi's fooling around, when it's so important to me―"

"For different reasons, it's important to him as well."

"In what way?" For a moment, she saw nothing but red. "He's just messing with me, doing whatever he feels like doing simply because he thinks he can get away with it! I see no clear reasoning in any of that, especially not in what he did to me. He― to me, he―" Her face suddenly felt all too warm. "Anyway, I'm sure that he's never actually cared about anything in his entire li―"

"Pardon me Nakajima-san, but I think it would be in your best interest to stop making such hasty assumptions." Maki cut her off smoothly in a warm, familiar tone that contradicted the look he was giving her, which had something firm and real to it that got her to quiet down and listen. "There's more to him than what meets the eye, and I think you of all people would know what that is like."

Given that she had no answer for him and could only stand there dumbstruck, the Vice President stepped around her and began to walk away as if they hadn't spoken one word to each other.

And he purposely left her with a lot to think about.

xx

Tora stroked his cheek thoughtfully, mind somewhere else as he was sat down to lunch. His present company― a deeply tanned, leggy girl with dark features― leaned against him with a hum on her lips, which were red and raw from their recent kissing session.

"Did I get some lipstick on your face?" She asked lazily, wondering at the way his hand was so preoccupied with touching his cheek, while the other played around with the food on his plate absentmindedly.

Piercing yellow eyes glanced to her, and for a moment, he seemed to resort back to his usual smirking self. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Now that," He lifted the fork from his plate, and placed it in front of her mouth. "would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?" She wrapped her lips around the offered food on the fork, pulling it off while giving him a sultry smirk of her own.

After swallowing the food, she spoke again, fingers playing at the hair around his ear. "Mmm. Delicious." She reached up and started to nibble on his earlobe, sucking it into her mouth before releasing it to whisper, "And very funny, Tora-san, but you're not exactly the type to get embarrassed by anything."

"Right." Tora allowed her to paw at him, thinking back to Renei for a fleeting moment. Unlike himself, she could easily become embarrassed, if put in a situation that was compromising enough. Again, he found his hand at his cheek, fingers just grazing over the spot where she had slapped him. It had hurt all the way on the drive back to school and all through the rest of the evening, though now he felt nothing there.

How disappointing, that he could no longer feel her anger against his skin.

"― tonight?" He blinked, but quickly pulled a neutral look from his bag of masks as he turned back to the young woman he was sitting with.

"What about tonight?" His voice was a purr when it came out, all too practiced and sweetened a sound, like raw honey.

She fluttered her lashes at him and gave him her best pout, slightly upset that his focus seemed to keep slipping away from her. She would just have to try harder for his attentions, then. "I said, do you want to come over to my place tonight? My parents would love to have you visit..." One of her hands smoothly glided down to his leg, slowly moving inwards on his thigh. "And I know I would too."

Tora indulged her with a heated kiss, eliciting a sweet sound from her lips before breaking away with an excuse ready on his tongue. "I would love nothing more." He gave her that heart-stopping Igarashi smile of his. "However, I've been rather busy these past few days, and I don't want to make any promises to you or your parents when I'm unsure if I'll be able to be there or not."

"Oh." Her voice was a disappointed sigh, and her body immediately retreated from his. "That's a shame. Some other time, then?" When she looked back at him, the curve of her lips suggested that 'some other time' meant she was probably going to pounce on him again between classes today.

"If I have the time for it." Came his simple reply; rather than readily accepting her, he decided to play the part of disinterested and let her give chase. Certain women seemed to find that exciting, and he understood why.

There was a certain thrill to going after something that didn't want you to go after it. Catching it was the fun part, and making it surrender was the reward.

"Hmm, I think you will." The woman giggled and stood up, gathering her things and flicking her hair over shoulder as she turned to leave, so that he could get one last whiff of her powerful perfume. "Later, Tora-san."

The sound of her heels clacking on the flooring faded away for a moment, before the sound started to get closer again. The blond didn't know what it was that she wanted to bother him with now, and he didn't care enough to ask; he chose to entertain the food on his plate more than the girl who was standing over him again.

When minutes passed and all she continued to do was stand there wordlessly, he wondered if silencing herself while she hovered over him was her newest way to get him to react to her in some way, to grab his attention. Which meant she was waiting on him to talk first. Well, alright, just this once he would bite.

"Forget something?" He asked coolly, still refusing her gaze as he stared at his hand twirling the fork around in his half-finished meal.

"You know, there _is_ something that happened recently, that I find myself wanting to forget."

His smirk was instant and wicked. "Renei."

When he turned to face her, Tora hummed thoughtfully as his eyes immediately pinpointed the place where the hickey he gave her should be, but a small square bandage was placed instead. Hopefully, unlike the slap she'd delivered him, that particular mark would take a while to fade. "It's good to see that you showed up today... Although, part of me does wish that you hadn't." He met her eyes, obviously referring to the threat he had left her with the day before.

"Please refrain from calling my name without honorifics." She responded respectfully enough, but his gaze was sharp and searching, and they found something burning cold in her own fathomless depths.

"How have you been explaining that to people?" His eyes flickered back to the covered mark on her neck, which was only partially hidden by her collar.

It amused him to see her hand jolt, as if about to reach up and cover it, but she refrained from doing so and simply stared down at him with a look of barely concealed annoyance. "Bug bite."

He scoffed briefly, before it turned into a humorless chuckle. "I suppose that makes me the bug?"

The insult was right there for the taking, the expected retaliation being a snappish affirmative that, yes, he was no better than an insect. However, the only response she gave was her eyes narrowing further.

He gave her plenty of time to say something, before quirking an eyebrow at her stubborn silence. "What, have you finally learned to hold your tongue?"

Her eyes were fixed firmly in a glare, and she all but hissed at him, "You broke our rule."

 _Ah, so that's what this is about._ Tora put his fork down and leaned back, calm and dispassionate. "Couple things. First," He held up a finger. "it was _your_ rule, not ours. And second," He held up his next finger. "rules are made to be broken."

"No," Renei clenched her good hand into a fist, quite tempted to break those long, graceful fingers of his. "they are made to be followed."

The blond lifted his shoulders in a light shrug. "I'm not really much of a follower, Renei."

"Quit―" Her voice raised just enough to make a nearby student look over at them, and she was quick to return to a normal tone. "I would appreciate it, President, if you would refer to me less intimately."

His eyes flashed as he remembered just how 'intimate' things had become recently. A devilish playfulness settled over his features as he mentioned in all manner of faked, lighthearted casualness, "Oh, but I thought the whole point of you moving out here was for us to become closer? Don't tell me you weren't the least bit pleased with yesterday's performance?"

Renei clenched her sore hand into a fist as well, and winced through the pain. True, she had wanted to get closer to him, but not like _that_. All she wanted, needed, actually, at this point, was to understand him. Tora Igarashi was a whole new world of confusing surprises and she hated the uncertainty, the way she wanted to be _so_ mad at him, but wasn't sure how upset she should be because she didn't know _why_ Tora is the way that he is, or _why_ he does what he does. She needed reasons, answers, something logical to fall back on. She didn't want to be too quick to judge without knowing the full story, it was foolish to assume things, she already had proof of that.

And she didn't want to be a fool, but, she didn't want to try forgiving him either. Her sensibility and her pride were clashing terribly, and... She didn't know what to do.

"There is no need for us to get any closer than we were yesterday." She tried to avoid looking at him as she sighed inwardly with her next words, her expression pinched. "In fact, even that was taking things too far. You crossed a line, Igarashi, and I can't look past that―"

"Are you going to give up, then?"

When she looked back at him, it was with a scowl as he grinned back at her knowingly. "No."

Ah, it was nice to have her be at least a bit predictable sometimes. "Good." His teeth glinted, his eyes all lit up when he smiled like that. "I don't want you to just yet."

"Tch," Renei folded her arms, trying to ignore this new expression on his face. So many different sides to one person... Even _if_ he wasn't looking at her like that on purpose, this felt like yet another form of harassment. "And why is that?"

Tora reached out and grabbed for his glass of water, speaking in a far too casual tone as he honestly revealed, "I'm enjoying the attention."

Renei's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open slightly. "You―!" Her blood seemed to pump faster in her ears, coloring them red.

"Renei!"

They both turned their heads, seeing Shin and the rest of his band approaching from the far end of the cafeteria. Tora dropped his glass back down on the table harder than was necessary, which went unnoticed by Renei, who was wondering aloud under her breath why everyone continued to call her name so informally.

She sighed heavily, knowing she had to get away from her fiancé before the nosy band members started some sort of interrogation. "I forgot they wanted to meet up here. Yoshikawa made lunch again..." She turned back to Tora, who looked up at her with low lids and an arched eyebrow. "I really hadn't meant to bump into you right now, but I still want to finish this talk later― aah!?"

In a flash, Tora had reached out with a hand to encircle her wrist and in a connected movement pulled her closer to him. When she nearly fell into his lap, she remembered a similar moment like this from last night, and immediately lifted her other hand to smack him away. He caught it with ease, giving it a hard twist and a yank, drawing a pained gasp from her lips as she was pulled further down to his level until they were close enough that his breath trailed across her face.

"If you want, we can do much more than just talk later." His grip tightened when she glared at him, and then his voice deepened in a way that sent shivers up her spine. "And I should mention, I rather _liked_ it when you hit me. So by all means," He let go of the hand that had been about to slash another stinging mark across his cheek, daring her to show him some solid proof of just how much he could rile her up.

She disappointed him by lowering her hand, instead opting to make a remark of disgust. "You are utterly impossible."

He smiled, but there was no show of teeth this time, just a thin line of smooth lips that she could still remember on her skin, no matter how much she tried to purge herself of the feeling. "And yet," His voice was dark and suggestive. "So very possible."

The different sensations of hot breath, scraping teeth, and harsh lips; of strong hands wrapped around her hips, and warm fingers grazing her bare thigh― came back to her in an abrupt crash of memories, and she jolted away from him in shock.

It was Shin who caught her, when she nearly tripped over her own heels as she backed away in a panic.

"Renei! Are you oka―"

"Have you," She ignored him, keeping her focus on the arrogant blond in front of her. She spoke with one hand lifted just in front of her mouth, trying to hide her stuttered breath, forcing her voice to hold nothing but bitterness when she asked the same question she had of him yesterday, the moment before everything went to hell. "No respect for yourself?"

Tora was not a stupid man, nor blind; he had definitely noticed the blush collecting in her cheeks, her shortness of breath, despite how she tried to disguise it. Wetting his lips with a leisurely swipe of his tongue, he spoke his next words slowly, and clearly. "Have you?"

He caught her eyes widening again, just before his view was partially obstructed by someone else.

"Igarashi." Nao removed herself from where she was sandwiched between Ryota and Haruto and instead placed herself between Tora and Renei. She gave him a firm look, but he only continued to smirk over her head at his dumbstruck fiancée. "You're at our table, so leave, and don't make me ask twice."

Tora's eyes rolled over to her and he spoke in a looser, mocking tone. "As if it were even remotely possible to be afraid of you, Yang- _chan_."

"Oh yeah? Then how about my boyfriend?" On cue, Ryota stepped beside the small Chinese girl, arms folded and brow raised, with all the look of a body guard about him. "He comes from a long line of martial arts, in case you've forgotten."

"Yes, the boy who thinks he's too good to be on the Judo club with the rest of us." Tora stood up, collecting his plate and glass before calmly moving past them. "Maybe if I had some proof of his skills, then I'd actually feel inclined to care."

"You know what Igarashi? Renei, Ryo, and the rest of us, we don't have to prove ourselves to you. And as for the Judo club, all of you guys on it are just a bunch of pricks anyway, so who would want to be involved in a sport with such terrible teammates? It takes all of the fun out of it. Ryo's always busy with school and the band anyway, so he doesn't have time to waste on people like you. And if he ever wants to practice Judo or anything like that, he can always train at home with his brothers, who actually use martial arts _honorably_ and help to teach others― huh?" Ryota placed a warm hand on her shoulder, successfully bringing her rant to a stop.

"Nao-chan," Haru chose the new moment of quiet to speak up in his amiable tone. "the President already left."

"Oh." The petite girl sighed in annoyance before immediately turning her attention to Renei. Currently, the brunette was trying to fend off a worried guitarist with a glare. "Shin, stop that, you're smothering the poor girl like you're some sort of mother hen."

"But she won't tell me anything that just went on between her and the Prez! It's like her mouth just zipped itself shut!" He exclaimed dramatically, something along the lines of jealousy and indignation finding their place in his comically widened eyes.

Rolling her own eyes, Nao stepped up to the taller girl, leaning forward with a tilt of her head and trying her best to get the other's attention. "Look, I'm sorry about all the idiotic boys you've had to deal with. But if you need to vent about it, we'll listen and try to help." She genuinely sounded concerned, but even that didn't get the stubborn pianist to say anything; Renei was determined not to get into this with them. She already had so much else to deal with, and feeling overwhelmed by their reactions to what was going on wouldn't help.

A moment later, Haru stepped in with his usual adorable charm. Wrapping an arm around Renei's waist, he gave her a side hug. "Ne, Renei-chan, tell us what's going on so we don't have to worry about you! C'mon, please~?"

The warm gesture seemed to wake her up enough to move, and Renei brushed him off and stood up a little straighter, gazing at nothing in particular in order to avoid everyone's prying eyes. "I don't need you coddling me." She sighed. This was exactly why she hadn't told them about the incident with Tora at her apartment... when Shin had asked about the blond dropping off the notes to her, she had simply explained that they'd been left at the front desk with Mr. Danno. And as for that old man, even he didn't know what had happened when Tora had disappeared upstairs, but it took _a lot_ of convincing to make sure he didn't tell Masao about it. Even then, she still wasn't quite sure the old man wouldn't end up telling her brother anyway, out of some sense of grandfatherly concern for her.

Ryota was kind enough to change the topic to their meal before Haru tried clinging to her again begging for answers, and they all pulled out the boxed lunches Shin had made for today and set them on the table. Things were oddly quiet as the five of them sat down to eat together, and Nao made sure Renei was seated between herself and Ryota, so that the other boys wouldn't keep pestering her.

At some point, after she had replayed her conversation with Tora about a million times over in her head, Renei viciously stabbed a chopstick into a chunk of her food. Everyone at the table pretended not to notice, but the two she was sitting between heard what she said and exchanged worried looks with each other.

"I respect myself _plenty._ And I'll make sure you learn to respect me as well." Renei promised in a hushed tone. "If I wanted, I could be ruthless, just like you."


	19. A Question of Humanity

A/N: Your continued support while I've been away from this story is so heartwarming \\(^▽^)/ *hugs~* I've been _very_ busy and apologize for the huge delay. My plan is to finish this story, of course, but who knows when that'll happen? If I had all the time in the world, and zero responsibilities... Ah, well anyway, how have my loyal, beautiful, fantastic viewers been? (again, so sorry for the torture I've made you endure with my lack of updating -.-) Has everyone else felt as happy as I have felt about the new year? Three cheers for a fresh start! Hip hip hooraaayyy! (Okay maybe just one cheer will suffice lol) I kicked it off by buying a day planner in my favorite color (cerulean blue), something I've never used before, though I'm absolutely obsessed with the idea of now. I have never been so organized! It's seriously the best feeling in the world. Other than that, I also got a classy new pair of glasses, an expensive new laptop, and most recently, a cute new haircut. Such minor changes, yet they leave me feeling very pleased with myself! ^-^

I promise I'll keep working on the next chapters for you, whenever I have the time to spare. Thanks again for your support in the reviews and PMs I've been receiving!

I enjoy criticism. Your critique is welcomed and appreciated, as are any compliments and just anything else you may feel free to share :)

I rewrote this chapter at least 6 times before I was finally, _finally_ happy with posting it. It is a little over 20,000 words, making it by far the longest chapter so far. I have gotten approx. 7 hours of sleep during a nap between writing over the past 3 days. I am 100% tired. Therefore, I am going straight to bed to catch up on my Z's. I hope you enjoy reading! *heart*

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"Do not let the roles you play in life make you forget that you are human." ― Roy T. Bennett

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Chapter Nineteen

A Question of Humanity

...

Slathers of sweat covered her body, making the judogi cling to her like a second skin. The temperature inside the dojo had become steadily warmer throughout each match, and it would be _so nice_ to go home and take a cold shower or a relaxing bath after this, she thought to herself, taking not more than half a second to wipe her sweaty brow with her sleeve―and that proved to be her downfall, quite literally.

Next thing Renei knew, she was sprawled on her back across the mat, pinned in place by a strong arm. That's right, just one arm was all it took to immobilize her. Oh the embarrassment.

"You got distracted again." The arm moved and a hand appeared before her, which she begrudgingly used it to pull herself back up. "You have to learn to release all other thoughts and focus your mind on only the present moment."

"My apologies, sensei." Renei said it politely enough, but her hand ripped away from his the moment she was standing and she turned away quickly to grab a water bottle―which Haru was enthusiastically handing out to her.

"That was great, Renei-chan!" His smile was big enough to brighten her mood a bit, and she gave him a weak smile of her own. She doubted he was even watching the matches, since he had his video games with him, but every time she took a break he made sure to look supportive.

"You lasted longer than I thought you would this time. Granted, you still haven't managed to set your opponent off balance even once, which is kind of the whole point." Ryota spoke up from where he was leaning against the wall, arms folded, quiet eyes assessing her. He was wearing a judogi as well, which took his bad-boy edge up a notch, though he had taken off all his jewelry and his hair did look a bit funny all windswept like it was instead of perfectly spiked atop his head. Unlike Haru, he actually had been watching the whole time, and even joined in on a few matches against her.

"Thanks." Renei managed to pant out before taking some large gulps of water, sounding more sarcastic than appreciative. After so many hours of rigorous training over the past week, you'd think she would have been able to have a little more success with the sport, right? Wrong. Really, she didn't even know if it would do her any good, learning any of this stuff―to be honest, she just needed this outlet for releasing her stress. These days, her emotions were all over the page.

Masao still wasn't back in the city yet, due to some complications that had arisen. Something about their father's condition worsening, and how he had to be taken to a facility a town over in order to get better medical care. The twins were taking care of the country house, but it was looking like they'd have to sell it soon due to the financial issues piling up. Issues that were all the more reason for Renei to marry into the wealthy Igarashi family; because it went without saying that their mother wasn't going to keep supporting her useless ex-husband for much longer.

Speaking of the Igarashis, the last Renei heard from them was about an invitation to dinner. Tora, who she had been avoiding over the past week for obvious reasons, had pulled her aside recently and explained that their mothers wanted him to take her out on a date, as an apology for his disrespectful behavior. Apparently those women had spies everywhere, or they had simply been observant enough to catch on to the fact that something bad had happened between him and his fiancée. In any case, they wanted the problem fixed immediately. Of course, whether her mother wanted her to do it or not, Renei declined the offer of a 'date' with Tora Igarashi pointblank. And he didn't press her on the matter, in fact he had seemed too busy to harass her with anything these days, which made her feel both suspicious and relieved.

Him being preoccupied with lord knows what just gave her more time to learn proper pinning techniques, should she ever need to pin him down and hit him in the face again. Or repeatedly.

"Against Ryo and his older brother," Nao looked up from her nail filer long enough to give the taller girl a reassuring smile. "You're not necessarily doing a bad job, Nakajima. You look way better off than most first timers would at this point, anyway."

"Seriously..." Shin, who was seated beside Haru listening to music and snacking on KitKats, handed her another bottle of water as soon as she downed the rest of the first one. "The Okimoto brothers have some pretty insane skills, so I'd consider it a blessing that you're able to still stand up at this point."

"Well," Everyone turned back towards the voice of the instructor―probably one of the tallest, strongest men alive―known as Ryota's older brother, Kentaro. Like his younger sibling, he had a deep tan to his skin, but unlike him his hair was not spiky nor dyed golden blond. It was a simple, short brown ponytail. "We've been going easy on her, obviously." He chuckled a bit. "She'd be in a lot of pain right now if we weren't."

Renei sighed, thinking to herself that she already was plenty sore. Her muscles, every muscle in fact, _ached_. "You would think that with your height, sensei, I could easily take you down with just a kick to your legs. You'd topple like an avalanche."

"Haven't we been over this? This isn't karate. We're _grappling_ with each other, not kicking and punching our way to a victory."

Renei couldn't withhold a smirk as she spoke to herself quietly, "I'd still like to try it, at least once."

"I've actually seen that happen before." Ryo butted into the conversation with his own smirk of amusement. "Ken toppling like an avalanche... Funny stuff."

"Oh, right, _that_ time." Kentaro himself was chuckling as he remembered. "Our oldest brother managed to knock me down once. Well, technically he used my own momentum against me, but still... A fall that hard took the breath right out of my lungs! It was the ultimate test of aikido vs judo, and judo apparently had lost that day." He scratched the back of his head, uncertain about his next words. "By the way, Nakajima-san, I wanted to bring up again that I think you should be training under him rather than me―"

"It's fine." Renei huffed, suddenly finding the far wall very interesting. "Don't act so modest. I like your lessons." Even if, she thought to herself, they probably wouldn't do her any good against Igarashi anyway... She still wanted to learn the skills... She huffed again, clenching her hands into fists.

"Same goes for you, don't sell yourself short." Kentaro tried to set her straight with a proper, firm look when he noticed her foul mood. Her temper often rose after one too many failures in a day of training. "I think it's smart of you to develop an interest in defensive techniques, since it's always better to build up a strong defense rather than a pitiful offense―," He looked pointedly at her hand, the one she'd used to punch Izaki with. "―but compared to me, my older brother and his teachings go for a much softer grappling style. That's why I usually have my weaker students switch to him for aikido lessons instead. Although they are very similar, aikido and judo each place a different emphasis on their techniques."

"It's just," She did want to learn to properly defend herself, now that she was aware of both Izaki's intentions and the fact that Tora was a ticking time bomb which she never knew would go off; more than that though, what she really wanted was to be on the same level as Tora, if not mentally then at least physically―and he was well-learned in judo, not aikido. And if one really was softer than the other, then she wanted to do the harder one anyway. "I want to know the basics of judo, at the very least." Even if it was all for nothing... She had to at least _try_ to be her damned fiancé's equal in _some_ way.

"Like I said, at their core, the two sports are quite similar. You would be learning nearly the same techniques with aikido as you would with judo, however I think aikido would be better for you to start with considering―"

"I want to start with judo." Renei callously interjected.

Sighing heavily, the man turned to his younger brother with his brow raised in concern. "Is she always like this, or am I just being impolite somehow?"

Ryota turned away with a strange expression, coughing to cover up a laugh, and Nao rolled her eyes and stood from the bench, walking up to a troubled-looking Renei. She offered the other girl her arm in a friendly manner. "Shall we go get some fresh air? It smells like sweaty idiots in here."

"Offense taken." Kentaro proclaimed, and Ryota suddenly couldn't contain a small bout of laughter; a rare form of expression, coming from him. He was a much more open person around his family.

Nao merely ignored them and linked her arm through with Renei's, who didn't say another word as they walked out of the dojo and onto the massive grounds of the Okimoto residence.

When Renei first came here to train, she never realized how little she knew about her friends until that day. She knew of Shin's family the most―his mother was a chef and his father a retired guitarist, but that was pretty much all of what she knew of them. She also knew very little of Haruto's father, who had been in the same band as Shin's father, and she knew even less of Haru's sister, who she was told was a lot like him. Nao was an only child, and she never talked about her parents; it seemed like she spent most of her time with Ryota and his family, actually. As for Ryota, he had just never seemed the type to care about sharing a lot about himself.

She felt kind of bad about knowing so little though, since they all seemed to know a great deal about her. The guilt was made especially worse when they offered to spend all this time with her while she trained, even though their first album had been released at the end of last week and Rose Picture was suddenly an overnight sensation. At school, they were treated like movie stars now, and paparazzi had quickly taken to following them around. They had tons of interviews set up and even a concert they were already having to prepare for, yet they still made time for Renei, to support her as her friends. In fact, she was around them so often nowadays that she had been sort of looped in with the band, gossip going around that she was either Haru's or Shin's girlfriend (with Ryo and Nao quickly being accepted as Japan's hottest new young celebrity couple). Such ridiculous attentions annoyed her to no end―especially with how Haru, oblivious child that he is, encouraged the gossip by cuddling up to her with hugs and using pet names as he always did, and how Shin, shameful opportunist that he is, had been cozying up to her in a similar fashion―though unlike the innocent and well-meaning Haru, he was doing it by means of flirtation.

But she tried to be grateful, because as rumors go, being the girlfriend of someone in Rose Picture wasn't the worst it could be.

And she tried to be a better friend, too, because as friends go, the members of Rose Picture were the best it could be.

Which is why, in order to level the field of their friendship so that she didn't feel so guilty about knowing so little about them, Renei had quickly become acquainted with each member of Ryota's family during her time training at his residence.

Yuudai and Osamu Okimoto were the two heads of the family. They were brothers; Yuudai was Ryota's father and Osamu was his uncle. Unfortunately, Yuudai was a widower of three years (Renei was mortified to learn so belatedly that Ryota's mother was dead, having developed lung cancer due to her penchant for smoking) and Osamu was divorced, but both men had their children living on these grounds with them. Yuudai had three sons, Tsuneo, Kentaro, and Ryota, and Osamu had a single daughter; Ryota and his brother's cousin, Tetsu. The whole of the Okimoto family were skilled in different areas of martial arts, the two more popular ones among them being aikido and judo.

From what Renei had been told over dinner with their family one night, Tsuneo and Ryota had studied aikido under their father, whereas Kentaro and Tetsu had studied judo under his uncle/her father. The boys, (aside from Ryo who had obviously developed a stronger love of music than martial arts) had taken the career path of teaching martial arts to others, which seemed to be a sort of family tradition, whereas their female cousin competed on a professional level and often won medals and prize money.

Tetsu was the only one Renei had yet to meet, due to the fact that when she wasn't busy with competitions, she was visiting with her mother and step family in another city. But the rest of Ryota's family members she had gotten to know relatively well by now; mainly the second oldest brother. Kentaro was, plain and simple, a good man; more talkative than Ryota for sure, and a patient teacher who also happened to be totally kicking her ass during their lessons. A fact that did not sit well with Renei, even though she had never gotten her hopes up about being very good at judo.

It's not as though a little training here and there would suddenly make her ten times stronger. Truthfully, it really was just serving to be her emotional outlet right now. She needed the exercise and the company of a lot of people―she needed the distraction.

"Ahh~ this was a good idea." Nao interrupted Renei's thoughts, having been leading the wobbly shell of her friend around on an aimless stroll. "The trees are so beautiful, and the blossoms kind of remind me of you, Renei. Well, the smell does, I mean."

"Renei-san." The other responded tiredly, her legs feeling more and more like jelly as they walked. Then she gasped suddenly, as Nao pinched her side.

She whirled on the other girl with an expression that declared she didn't exactly enjoy that, since she was already so sore already and not exactly in the best of moods. The smaller girl just laughed and lead her down another path of trees.

"You're too uptight. Relax, and look around you. Early spring is the prettiest time to be outside, don't you think?"

Renei decided to listen to her friend's advice and look up at the canopy of trees they were walking under. Cherry blossoms spread out above their heads like pink clouds of rain, a few petals falling with the wind. "Yes." She automatically agreed, sounding wistful as the sight reminded her of her home in the countryside. She wondered if her siblings were enjoying a similar sight―no, they probably didn't have the luxury to, not with all the trouble going on with their father and the estate.

"How is your hand feeling these days? It's healed completely by now, hasn't it?"

Renei re-directed her attention to the hand in question. The bruises along each knuckle had faded significantly, but she still tried to be careful with it during training. It probably served as part of the reason for her subpar throws, holds, and joint locks.

"It feels fine to me, just a little sore at times."

"Good." Nao nodded her head before an exasperated sigh left her lips. "I'm sorry about the boys, by the way. I don't know how many times I'll have to continue apologizing for them. They can be so insensitive."

"I wasn't very upset with them." Renei rolled her sore muscles and gradually started to relax as she breathed in the sweet-scented air. "There are only two people I've felt any sort of frustration toward lately, and those are myself, and a certain blond pervert." She paused briefly, then admitted, "And sometimes Kentaro sensei, so I guess that makes three."

Something about what she said caused the other girl to go silent for several minutes, providing Renei with the eventual urge to nudge her with her elbow. She noticed that the shorter girl had a dark look on her face, as though she were brooding over something. "Nao-san, is something the matter? Look it's not as though I think he's bad at his job or anything. I'm fully aware that sensei only ever means well―"

"I still can't stand the fact that the President took advantage of you like he did!" Nao interjected with a particularly explosive rage unbefitting a tiny China doll like her. Her voice had risen into something fiercely protective, out of nowhere, making Renei's eyes widen a fraction. "He's such a majorly messed up _jerk_! Thinking he can sneak into someone's home, and even so much as put his hands all over anyone he feels like _without bothering to ask for their consent_!"

Renei nodded, eyes widening further as Nao raised her voice. "Yes, I know."

"I mean who does he think he is, king of the freaking world or something?! You are his fiancée, sure, but that doesn't mean he owns you. You can't own a person, there is such a thing as free will! Your engagement to him isn't something that can be used as an excuse for him to do whatever he wants to your body!"

Renei sighed deeply. "I know."

"Really, how could any person with a conscience, with even a shred of humanity in them, corner someone like that and proceed to pin them down and have their way with―"

The tall brunette stopped walking suddenly, cutting her friend of with a quick snap of her voice. "Nao-san. Please calm yourself, you are beginning to act like Yoshikawa, saying unnecessary things like that," Indigo eyes narrowed. "So _loudly_."

The other girl stared at her, brown eyes wide and guilty-looking, suddenly aware of the fact that she'd been shouting. "I apologize, Renei-san, for being so bold all of a sudden. I guess that was sort of rude of me, huh? And I was being loud..." There was an awkward silence where Renei simply began to walk forward again. Nao followed, this time from behind, keeping her distance a bit. "But if it's alright to ask, why do you think he did that to you?"

"I don't know."

"There had to be a reason."

"I have yet to find one that makes any sense."

The continued walking until they reached a bench in the yard, just underneath one of the largest blossoming trees. Sitting down together, the two girls went into a state of silence as Renei closed her eyes and dozed lightly, clearly not wishing to further this conversation, while Nao continued thinking things over.

"I wish you could tell Shin and Haru about it without them freaking out." The bassist spoke up some time later.

"Uhm." Came her friend's distant response.

Those two hadn't been informed about the incident with Igarashi for obvious reasons. Sure, she had come to trust Yoshikawa a lot, but she knew what his reaction would be and she didn't want to have to put up with it. The passionate red head would likely explode in overprotective anger, similar but probably worse than what Nao had just demonstrated, rambling about making sure something like that never happened again and seeking Tora out to try to start a fight, which would not end well at all. And Haru would probably get all mopey and cry every time he saw her, asking if she was alright, if she needed him to comfort her, stuff like that. On top of that, neither of them would be able to focus on their music, and she didn't want their careers to suffer because of her personal affairs. She couldn't tell her brother either, who wasn't even back in town yet anyway, and had she confided in Mr. Danno, she had no doubt the old man would have reported it to her brother, which would be far worse than just telling Masao herself. So really, Renei had had to settle on two options: keeping the horrible incident to herself, or spilling her guts to the only two people left that she trusted with the information.

At first she went with keeping it to herself, but after Nao and Ryota (more Nao than Ryota, really, although they both easily picked up on it) started questioning her about what was going on between her and Igarashi, she broke down and told them. They received the information calmly enough, (though when she was explaining it aloud to them she was acting anything but calm), yet they both seemed quite troubled about it underneath the surface. Renei ended up grateful for talking it through with them after that, and even more grateful when Ryo offered to have her take lessons in martial arts from him and his brothers, just in case Tora took things too far again. She only agreed, not because she thought it would help all that much if the blond attacked her again (though who knows? maybe it would do some good), but because she needed to spend less time alone in the apartment and more time out with her friends, blowing off steam through rigorous training sessions. Martial arts wasn't really her style, especially judo, but thinking about how talented Tora was at it just made her want to rise to the challenge and learn it herself.

The challenge was taking a lot out of her, though. More than she'd anticipated. Like she had thought, it really wasn't her kind of sport.

"Nao-san."

"Yes?"

"I'd much rather be playing softball again." As if to emphasize her point, Renei adjusted her sore muscles and groaned. "Being thrown about and pinned down like a useless ragdoll is both humiliating and exhausting."

The other girl laughed a bit; not to mock her, just to keep the mood light. "For a sport that translates to the 'gentle way', judo is surprisingly tough. I really don't know how these boys do it. Or why they'd want to get so sweaty and gross, grappling with other gross and sweaty people."

"Forget what it translates to. It is nothing but a ruthless sport designed to suck the life out of you."

The brunette allowed a sarcastic grin to crack her lips as the fading sunlight broke through the branches above and warmed her face. It suddenly felt _too_ warm, after all that activity she'd gone through, but her muscles would only protest again if she tried to move.

A sudden shadow hovered over her in the next instant, however, blocking out the sun. Renei opened her eyes just a smidgen, surprised to see that Nao was leaning over her, gazing down at her in mixed parts mischief and excitement. She had just remembered something Renei had said the other day, and it gave her some wicked ideas.

"Hey, Renei-san." She smiled, something sly and dark that somehow enhanced her level of cool. "Do you want to learn how to be a ruthless woman, without having to fight physically?"

Indigo eyes suddenly lit up in interest, opening up all the way to grant the other girl their full attention now. "Go on."

"If you don't think the judo lessons will do much else other than suck your soul out, then I have a different course of action for you to take. Something Igarashi will never see coming his way."

"What are you thinking?" For a moment, Renei was wary of this unspoken idea. "Will I find it cringe-worthy?"

"Probably."

"...Will it work?"

"Oh it'll get on his nerves, alright. Make him antsy, throw him off his game and, hopefully, his high horse." Nao's smile was eager now, almost impatient. "I could have you dishing out your revenge to him as soon as tonight. All you have to do is change your mind about going to that dinner, and act exactly as I tell you to."

Renei mulled it over for a moment, counting the days that she'd been avoiding Igarashi up until now. Enough time had passed since the last time she'd confronted him for what he'd done (when he had then proceeded to insult her in front of her friends in the cafeteria), and she _did_ want to confront him again―this time with her emotions fully under her control and a set plan she could stand by. "Alright, but do you have the time to help me before Anna-san picks you guys up for your PR meeting tonight? I don't want to get in the way of everyone's work. I've already felt like a burden lately, taking up most of your time..."

"Nonsense, no friend of mine is a burden. I'll _make_ more time for you." Nao flicked her hair back in an 'I-know-how-to-get-my-way' kind of manner, the way she exuded so much bold confidence making it hard to doubt her abilities. As harmless as she appeared, the girl did have an uncanny ability to put even the most troublesome people (namely the male half of the population, for the most part) in their place. "The question is, Nakajima... Are you ready to be as ruthless as him? 'Cause you're going to have to fight fire with fire now, you know."

Yes, Renei knew that, of course she knew that! Hadn't she once said that she'd walk through hell with him in order to get her way? Hadn't she told herself it was time to stop fearing drowning, and just learn to breathe under the waves that were crashing into her over and over again?

It was exciting, baffling, and scary―and it felt so _right_ and _wrong_ yet _necessary_ ―to stop clinging to her morals and rules.

She took a deep breath. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

xx

Every other customer in the café had taken to gawking at the handsome blond sitting casually at one of the tables, helping himself to a strawberry shake. He looked sharp and expensive, all done up in a light, breathable cashmere sweater and fitted trousers that ended at a pair of shiny dress shoes. In such a commonplace little shop, he was largely out of place.

One of the maids sat across from him at the table, looking rather uneasy as she fidgeted in her seat.

"You're a tad overdressed for our meeting…" She muttered, mostly to herself, because it's not as though it were any of her business how he dressed himself.

"Popular as I tend to be with the ladies, I have another date to get to shortly after this." He sounded just pleasant enough that it somehow managed to smooth over his arrogance. "And unlike this place, the restaurant I've chosen for it does have a dress code."

Misaki didn't bother to look offended, only mildly surprised. "Just to be clear, this isn't a date. And if I had known you were busy, I wouldn't have called."

"People like me are usually busy." He commented, lazily taking to stirring his shake. "People in general, are usually busy on such... short notice."

The maid frowned. "If it was so inconvenient for you then why―"

Tora looked up and cut her off. "I have to say, I hadn't expected you to call on me so suddenly." He plucked the sliced strawberry garnish from the rim of his glass and brought the fruit to his lips, having the grace to look a tiny bit pleased. "Nor had I expected something on a simple commoner's menu to be quite this tasty."

From the look on his face, one might think he'd never seen a strawberry before, let alone tried strawberries in a dessert form, Misaki thought to herself. What, were the high class of Japan too good for something so basic? What did they usually have for dessert, caviar with flakes of gold on top? "If you thought it would taste bad, then why did you order it?" It wasn't hard to tell she was annoyed with the Igarashi heir. His cool indifference made it hard to tell what he was thinking, and that set her on edge. The insults he subtly threw at her weren't helping.

"Well," He stated in an obvious tone. "It would be rude not to order something, wouldn't it? After all, you were kind enough to invite me here as your guest." When Tora smiled, she found it to be more cheeky than threatening, for once. "Lovely service here, by the way. I find I enjoy it when you call me 'master'."

"I invited you to talk with me _after_ my shift is over, actually." The maid sunk lower into her seat with a grumble, trying her best to ignore all the looks they were getting. His smile had caused several women to swoon. "So that we could avoid making a scene. Also, I'm required to greet everyone like that at the door. Believe me when I say it won't be happening again."

"Pity." The blond sighed and shrugged, and that was that. "Well, right now is the only free spot in my schedule. I don't have all the time in the world, as you well know, so let's just skip to the part where you tell me why I'm here." He eyed her as if he were truly curious, even though he knew full well what the reason for their meeting was.

Misaki avoided his eyes as much as possible, as he looked into her face intently. She didn't like being stared at; especially not by him, and especially not at her place of employment. "It's about Usui..."

"Ahhh, I see." His tone changed from politely casual to lightly amused, and he tittered despite the glare she gave him. "Having relationship troubles, are we? Sorry, but I don't give the best advice for that sort of thing. They're far too much trouble for my liking."

"It's not about my relationship with him!" She snapped, her voice an unpleasant hiss while she flushed a dark red. "It's about his relationship with his family."

He didn't show her much more of an expression other than cocking an eyebrow. "So he finally told you." Inwardly, he was smirking to himself. Pestering Usui about the matter over the past week seemed to have done its trick.

As Misaki suspected, Igarashi knew things about the blond alien that she herself didn't know. "I don't think he told me everything, exactly..." In the blink of an eye she went from angry back to nervous, refusing his gaze again, absentmindedly straightening the table cloth. "He seems to still be holding something back."

"Which is why you came to me." President Igarashi, Misaki thought to herself as she looked up at him in surprise again, was seeming oddly cooperative today. Perhaps he really didn't have the time to waste with taunting her―something which he usually seemed to live for. "You figure I know something you don't." Even his eyes had a more serious glint to them than usual, all traces of his earlier amusement gone.

"All he told me is that he comes from a wealthy family from Britain, and that he doesn't fit in there. Which is why he's here, in Japan," She paused, letting her sentence hang in the air uncertainly.

Tora decided to pick up where she left off. "Where he doesn't really fit in either. I think you've noticed by now, haven't you? He doesn't belong in your commoner's world, but rather, he belongs in the world I live in. Going to formal parties and making friends with other aristocrats, parading around in public like a prince... His family even owns a castle, which he is the illegitimate heir to."

Misaki decided to choose a later date to wrap her head around the fact that her boyfriend's family owned an entire _castle_. "Illegitimate?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"From what I've heard, his mother had an affair with her butler." Tora waved his hand, as if this were old news; though this was her first time hearing about it. "His mother was also very sick―died because of it after her last childbirth, actually―and she passed on her weak body to her first son, a man by the name of Gerald Walker."

"Usui's older brother..." Misaki mused, trying to focus on the most familiar parts of the story. "He didn't say a lot about him, just that they don't get along..." She met Tora's eyes with a mixture of curiosity and sadness. "Tell me, is their relationship really that difficult?"

"Let's put it this way," Tora leaned back in his chair and pushed the half-finished shake toward her. "Your dear Usui is the second successor to the Walker family, perfectly healthy and more than capable of taking his brother's place, should the need ever arise."

Misaki blanched, and Tora's smirk made itself known. Good, he thought to himself, she seemed to finally understand the severity of the situation. The delicacy it was to be taken with. The importance that Takumi held, the duties that he was born into, outside of Japan.

Glancing at his watch, the blond man moved to rise from his seat. As much as he'd love to stay and chat more with 'Misa-chan' and taunt her into calling him 'master' a few more times, he unfortunately had that other appointment to keep. "Is there anything else you wish to know, before I take my leave?" He was back to acting like a perfect gentleman, as if he were solely capable of amiable tones and charming grins.

Misaki looked momentarily too frazzled to speak, and then when she did, she stumbled over each question as if her tongue were tripping on syllables. "Why did you suddenly request that Usui come to Miyabigaoka? You said it was an environment he could thrive in? Why? And why so suddenly?"

Tora offered her his direct gaze, communicating with a single look that it would be wise for her to think carefully over his next words. "If he's ever going to deal with the responsibilities on his shoulders, he needs to first remember which world it is that he truly belongs to."

The ravenette stared back at him for the longest time, her amber eyes wide with so many different difficult emotions that he almost felt sorry for her. The faintest thought of embracing her in an effort to offer some form of comfort came to mind.

But then he remembered his place, and his plan, and he tore away from her conflicted gaze and walked out without so much as a farewell.

xx

Renei could tell when she met up with Tora later that evening that he was in a quiet, introspective, 'don't-bother-me' mood, for whatever reason.

It was her every intention to worsen that mood, by doing just that―bothering him. She had already planned all of her actions out tonight in order to accomplish that, with the help of Nao, of course (as it turns out, Nao has quite the devious side to her).

"Excuse me sir," In a perfect display of what she and her friend had discussed, she placed her hand on the handsome waiter's arm; who had just put a menu down in front of her. The young man met her eyes blankly at first, but in the next second he was warmly returning her beautiful smile. "I'm curious, what's your favorite dish? I can be terribly indecisive when it comes to such matters." She kept her voice low, and soft, as practiced.

"Well miss," The waiter started, already so caught up in her captivating presence that he closed the professional distance between them by leaning in closer. He smelled pleasant, she noted, almost as pleasant as he looked. Lucky her, she didn't have to seek out someone more attractive to fake-flirt with. It was a terrible thing to think, but after all, this wouldn't work as well if she had someone who was less than good-looking.

She wondered, fleetingly, if Igarashi went through a similar process of elimination with women. Knowing him, he probably did.

"It's Renei." She told the gorgeous server, her smile turning coquettish as she leaned into him as well. Inside she felt more than awkward doing this, but outside, she was all womanly charm and confidence.

That was the moment she knew would catch Tora's attention, if she had not had it before. Renei had made it very clear to him that she did not want him talking to her without honorifics, and yet here she was, allowing a total stranger to do just that. Of course he would notice something so obvious.

"Well Renei," The young man corrected himself, falling right into her trap as he flipped open the menu for her. His free arm went around to rest on the back of her chair, an action that could have been taken as possessive. Perhaps a threat to the man sitting across the table from them, or at least, she hoped Tora saw it that way. "Tonight's special actually happens to be a favorite of mine... You see, I'm good friends with the chef..."

She allowed him to talk her ear off for a few minutes, 'accidentally' brushing their fingers as he pointed to what he was reading on the menu. And although Renei refused to look up and see, she knew that Tora was observing them. She could feel his eyes flickering between herself and the waiter, burning that bright shade of gold as they always did, carefully assessing the situation. And she enjoyed knowing that his attention had been caught without any problems whatsoever.

This was almost too easy, she marveled.

Renei ended up allowing a few more minutes of mellow flirting than necessary before she finally got comfortable enough with her act to step it up a notch. Turning almost completely in her seat, she looked up at the waiter with low-lids, rubbing her lips together to bring his attention to them before she spoke, "Thank you for your help, Hachiro..." He had introduced himself somewhere during their conversation, and she purposely purred out his name without an honorific. It was weird, not using honorifics like that, but then again she wasn't trying to act normal right now, was she? No, she was someone else entirely right now. "I _really_ appreciate it. And, could you tell me one more thing?" She reached out and swept away an imaginary fluff on his jacket before leaving her hand to rest suggestively on his chest. "What are your thoughts on... Dessert?"

She couldn't have gotten any more lucky with the way things were turning out when he lowered his own lids at her, leaned further into her space, and whispered just loud enough for Tora to hear, "I'm sure we could work something out after your date is over and I'm off work. Your place, or mine?"

xx

Seeing as his fiancée had been doing everything in her power to avoid him lately―moving to a different seat in class, sitting as far from him as possible during student council meetings, and quickly leaving school with her suddenly famous friends at the end of each day―Tora had not expected her to change her mind about dinner.

Just yesterday, he'd gone home to find both his and Renei's mother visiting with each other, and they had practically, not ordered, but threatened him to ask Renei out to dinner the following night. Something about how there were rumors going around that she was dating one of the members of that new band, and how dare he let her drift away from him like that, and he'd better hurry up and remedy the situation before the rumors came true _or else_... He couldn't really say it was a very pleasant encounter. His mother was one thing, he could handle her just fine, but _Renei's mother_ ganging up on him with his own? Together, Miyuki Sekine and Aya Igarashi made for a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Well, luckily enough for everyone involved, Tora wasn't up for causing any problems with his family right when business with his trump card was going just as smoothly as he'd hoped (Misaki had called him that same day requesting that they meet up to discuss some personal matters, and he knew instantly it was about Usui), so naturally he'd gone ahead and asked Renei to attend dinner with him. He had been expecting her to say no, anyway, so at least then he could tell their mothers that he had tried, and then they could go after Renei if they felt like it, for all he cared.

But a few hours before he had gone to visit with Misaki at Maid Latte, he'd received a call from Renei informing him that she would accept his invitation to dinner, after all. The sudden change wasn't suspicious at first, because he just assumed that their mothers really had gotten their hands on her.

Which is why it came as an almost overwhelming surprise to him when he picked her up, and she wasn't moping about the whole thing with her tail tucked between her legs. No, she had appeared before him like a whole new woman, brimming with enthusiasm for the night ahead. She didn't so much as send him a single death glare, in fact, she actually made an effort to smile. She acted as if nothing had happened between them, as if he hadn't broken her precious rule about intimacy and driven her all kinds of crazy. Oddly enough, she was treating tonight like it was a fresh start in their relationship. Now, he knew she was too prideful to back down and keep her distance from him for much longer, but this change was ridiculous. The way she talked casually with him during the car ride and insisted _he_ was the one acting strange when he asked her why she was acting strange, the way she snorted out a laugh when he asked if she had hit her head, was unnerving.

Be that as it may, he felt that he just couldn't complain when she looked so prettily done up. After all, Tora was never one to ruin the mood of a beautiful woman, no matter how... uncanny the circumstances were.

Renei seemed to have put some actual effort into her appearance for the evening. Her hair was pulled up into the usual long ponytail, except the strands were curled, and she wore earrings which dangled in an elegant fashion. He didn't even know she _could_ wear earrings, let alone had any _to_ wear. Her outfit consisted of a black and white striped halter top―the straps of which he had once or twice thought of untying from the bow that held them at the back of her neck―and a black skater skirt―the cut and length of which he appreciated. It was nice to see so much leg showing, since her school uniform normally denied him that sight, and when they arrived at the restaurant he savored watching her from behind as they were lead to their table.

Unfortunately, once they were seated he soon found out that none of this had been done in order to please him, per se, but rather to catch the eye of other men. Was it possible, Tora pondered as he watched his 'date' flirting shamelessly with a waiter, that her intention was to get him riled up, only to pull the rug out from under him? If that were the case... Admittedly, such a thought intrigued him to no end. Humored him, even. He wondered how far she would go, just to push his buttons tonight, and was so far too bemused and curious about that to stop her just yet. Watching her use her womanly charms (which she had hardly ever acknowledged before) for the act of flirtation was fascinating in the same way that watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis, or a spider catch flies and roll them up in their webbing, was.

"Well Renei," It must be secretly killing her to have a stranger refer to her so casually, Tora mused as he listened in. "Tonight's special actually happens to be a favorite of mine..."

It was around this time that the waiter rested an arm where it didn't belong on the back of Renei's chair.

Tora's eyes narrowed, but he remained quiet and observant.

Minutes passed, and the longer his eyes lingered on the scene, the more apparent it became to him that Renei seemed strangely... _in her element_ as she was putting on her little flirting show; as though she'd always been good at it. While it is true that she had always retained a sort of classy beauty about her that drew a man's eye, he'd never thought her the type to use that to her advantage, naturally picking up the skill of wrapping men around her finger like some sort of sly temptress. But here she was, doing just that before his very eyes, as if it were as effortless to her as riding a bike.

There came a point where he finally registered that he was being treated as if he were invisible, a feeling he was not accustomed to. He hadn't minded it much, until things had started to become much more intimate than he had expected. Renei was taking this act a little too far now, wasn't she? Tora felt a spark of anger, just a spark, seeing her place her hand on the other man's chest.

He knew that he had every right to start feeling angry about this by now. Here he was sitting―the one who had so _kindly_ offered to take her out tonight, the one who had picked her up in a his _luxurious_ car and proceeded to take her to an _upscale_ restaurant where they would share an _expensive_ meal―being completely ignored. The only person who seemed to exist in his so-called date's eyes at the moment, was the waiter, who was _supposed_ to be taking their order and definitely not flirting with a woman who was clearly already with someone... Although she certainly wasn't acting like she was with someone.

In fact, Tora was starting to think that with the way she was acting by taking things this far, he was right to question the level of respect she had for herself.

After that little gesture with her hand, Renei had lead the waiter on long enough for the man to become more bold. The words were quiet, and spoken in her ear, but the blond still managed to catch it when the other guy suggested that she and him meet up after she was finished having dinner with Tora.

To which her response was the most out of character, girlish giggle she had ever emitted; something Tora had heard plenty of times before, though certainly never from her. His annoyance spiked upon hearing that particular sound from the usually very sensible and reserved young woman. It reminded him too much of the plethora of women he'd had on his arm, who always made that sound in order to keep his attention on them, even when whatever he said to them didn't have so much as a shred of humor in it that they could laugh at. And it sounded wrong, coming from Renei.

His cool composure slipped, showing a slight frown on his face, and he found himself quickly losing his ability to sit and observe calmly from the sidelines. That absurd _giggling_ did not belong to any fiancée (whether pushed onto him by his parents or not) of his. Who did she think she was trying to be? Where was that flare of pride in her that most other women―Ayuzawa excluded―lacked? The very pride that kept her defiant, and self-reliant, and so the exact _opposite_ of what she was being right now.

In an effort to get her attention, Tora sent the young woman a disparaging look; something to make her feel like a fool, and suggest to her that she should start acting like the responsible human being that she usually proves herself to be. And he became increasingly angrier when she didn't bother to notice his silent message. In fact, she seemed to be pointedly ignoring him in favor of putting her attention into considering the other man's offer. Well, there was that defiance of hers he knew so well, but it couldn't have come from her pride since that still seemed to be remarkably absent, if she really _was_ considering leaving here tonight with a stranger.

"So, Renei?" The waiter's voice was all sorts of suggestive and hopeful, and Tora's glare had actually managed to get _his_ attention, at least. However, it had the opposite effect of making him back down, and the man acquired a rather smug grin while moving his arm from the back of Renei's chair to rest comfortably around her shoulders instead. "What do you say?"

Tora couldn't help the tic of his jaw even if he had wanted to. Like hell Renei would actually have the nerve to take this silly flirtation charade any further. It was a surefire way to get herself into a lot of trouble, and she knew it; to show such blatant disrespect by accepting such an inappropriate offer from another man, while he, her fiancé, was sitting right across from her listening in. And in front of all these people, in a public setting? Would she dare risk his reputation like that? No, she couldn't possibly, because she didn't have it in her to use an innocent (or not so innocent, by the looks of it) bystander just for the sake of causing trouble for Tora.

But she did dare, surprising him with the fact that she had more in her than he could ever hope to comprehend.

"I say," When the giggles died out, they left behind a feminine purr that sounded certain in its decision. "Let's go to your pla―"

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding." Tora was graceful and quick, careful not to let his anger show as he reached across the table and covered Renei's hand with his; finally getting her to cock an eyebrow in his direction. "We're engaged." His voice was pleasant enough, but the look he was giving the waiter was a clear warning to back off.

The man only seemed to be capable of receiving subliminal messages from women, not other men, apparently. "I don't see any rings." He commented dryly.

"We haven't picked them out yet." A blond eyebrow rose in a slow arc as he issued a more verbal warning this time. "Do I need to request another waiter?" He had every intention to get this man into a lot of trouble with his employer if things continued like this for much longer.

"I hardly think that's necessary." Renei spoke up, her voice light and airy, trying to keep the peace yet infuriating Tora all the more. "He didn't do anything wrong."

The blond's eyes landed on Hachiro's arm, which was still placed around his fiancée's shoulders. Then he looked at his fiancée and, if the subtle curve of her lips was any indication, he could see that she was a bit too satisfied with herself at the moment. And just like that, the choice he had to make between threatening a stranger and confronting his date was made far easier. "You're right, Renei." He saw her wince at the harsh sound of her name on his lips, and smirked. "He isn't the one who did anything wrong." Like a flash of yellow lightning, his eyes shot a look back at the waiter. "Leave us."

Finally registering the warning he was being given, Hachiro pulled away from the brunette he'd been flirting with for the past fifteen minutes. "Did you want to order anything for yourself before I take my leave?" He sounded both wary and aggravated, while maintaining a touch of arrogance as well.

"I'll have what she's having." The blond waved the question off dismissively, his voice flat and unconcerned.

The waiter bowed out after that, but not before taking their menus from them and letting his eyes linger on Renei for far longer than what was considered socially acceptable. Once he was gone, Renei tried to pull her hand out from under Tora's, only to have him grab it and yank it across the table towards him.

Her whole upper body was practically forced across the table to follow the movement, though Tora managed to not draw any unwanted concern from the other people seated around the room, because he softly pressed his lips to the top of her hand; as if a chaste kiss was what he had been going for all along.

"What do you think you are doing?" The burning question came equipped with a burning gaze, golden eyes sharp as they met startled indigo. His lips brushed her skin as he spoke, the hold he had on her hand was warm despite the lack of warmth in the gesture.

Most people would have been too distracted and flustered to notice that Tora's perfect mask had cracked, showing understated signs of built up annoyance behind it; mainly a fiery frustration drawing his body up into one collective, tense knot. But Renei noticed, because it was the response she had been looking for all night. She decided to savor the moment with this thought: revenge tasted sweet.

But she wasn't finished with him quite yet. If she could take this further, if there was a limit, she would find it and push past it―just as he had done with her.

"You mean before you rudely interrupted by scaring our waiter away from the table? I was ordering food." Renei's voice was innocent and easygoing, just as she'd practiced.

Something about the show of ignorance seemed to bother him all the more, to her delight. Gold eyes flashed with some sort of... _something_ she couldn't place, before returning to being hard as steel. "Is that so?" He asked coolly, releasing her hand. Renei barely withheld her smirk at his next words, as she pulled her hand back and straightened up in her chair. "From where I was watching, it looked more like you were offering yourself as the main course."

His bitterness was fuel for her confidence. "I won't try to lie about it." She invited a firm note of honesty into her voice. "In fact, I'll openly admit that I found him rather attractive, so I was trying to stay in his company for as long as possible."

Tora looked unamused. "I thought you said you weren't going to lie about it, Renei?" Again, he spoke her name on a harsh note, and this time she barely withheld another wince.

"First of all, we are not on such good terms with one another that you can drop the 'san'." Violet eyes narrowed in that familiarly stern way of theirs that was more like her usual self. "And secondly, I think I'm being perfectly frank. By anyone's standards―my own included―he's rather _cute_."

Tora's eyes were blown wide at her comment for just a split second, before he blinked and the look was gone. He had assumed she had only been flirting in front of him as a type of revenge for what he had done to her in her bedroom; he had never even considered that she might have a specific taste in men, and be capable of forming such opinions on their looks. It was hard enough to imagine her acting in the same obnoxious ways as so many other women did, let alone see her announcing so casually that she thought a certain man was desirable. Given her typically no-nonsense demeanor when it came to pretty much everything she was faced with, it was easy to look past the fact that she was just as capable of feeling an attraction to some random guy as any other young woman was. She was only human, after all, and that was a very human reaction to have.

Briefly, the blond thought back to the face of the waiter, recalling that the man wasn't exactly unpleasant to look at; more like, the guy could be the poster child for the combination of perfect cheekbones and a winning smile. He also had seemed like the type who could get away with his arrogance coming across as charming to a woman, rather than being a turn off. That said, Renei most likely _wasn't_ lying about finding such a person attractive. Countless other women probably felt the same way.

He really would've preferred a lie instead. If the reason she had behind all of the flirting was less realistic, he could go ahead and call her out on her actions without running the risk of sounding jealous. Which he most certainly wasn't. At least, she'd never hear him admitting that the thought of her hand resting on a guy like that, who encouraged her touch because he obviously found her similarly attractive, bothered him. Nor would she ever be informed that the fact that she was on less formal speaking terms with that guy when compared to Tora, plus her infernal, girlish giggling directed at the guy, made him feel something a little more than just 'bothered'; creating an odd and uncomfortable stirring in his chest.

"I fail to see why you had to butt in." Renei had folded her arms at this point, raising an imperious eyebrow. Both actions made him want to grab her by the ponytail, yank her across the table again, and scream into her face that _he_ was the one in charge here, not her. Not her. But then, Tora Igarashi did not scream. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had lost his composure enough to raise his voice like that at someone. Had he ever yelled like that before, it had probably been directed at his parents during a time when he was young and naïve enough to still care about trying to get them to notice him. "You're always flirting with other women, Igarashi, or you're doing similarly inappropriate things in order to make it perfectly clear to me that the rules that hold together promises and commitments are not to be taken so seriously."

Tora glared at the fact that she had a good point. "Let's not make this about me."

"Oh, but it is about you!" With the hiss of a whisper, Renei leaned slightly over the table, and he was all the more tempted to just grab her and pull her to him and... something. He didn't know what, but it's not like he could pull anything off in public anyway. "You're always going to fight me on everything, we both know that. And likewise I'll never call off our engagement, but standing by while you break all of the rules I set in place for our relationship doesn't exactly sit well with me, either. So in an effort to find some common ground, I thought it would be pertinent to try adjusting to the idea of having an open relationship."

She shrugged, as if she were completely nonchalant about the matter of seeing other people when you're already promised to someone else―a matter which she had always had serious issues with before. Usually, she had a very fixed stance about where people's loyalties should lie.

Which is why Tora wasn't sure whether to balk, or laugh, because this sort of thing coming from her was irony at its finest. "An open relationship." The blond repeated, trying not to show the astonishment on his face. Indeed, that was a loophole he had always been aware of, but it would never work. His parents would crucify him if they found out about it (yet another ironic thing, considering they both entertained their own side relationships despite being married to each other), and if they didn't, then the press would. It was too much of a risk, and he'd still be in an arranged marriage in the end; no amount of seeing other women would make that fact any less binding and true.

What's more, he didn't fancy the idea of becoming like his parents.

"It's only fair that I be allowed the same liberties as you." Seeing his conflicted reaction, Renei could no longer hold back―her grin was sudden and uninhibited, a good match to the devious glint in her eyes. "I have needs too, you know?" When Tora snapped his eyes back in her direction at that, she didn't have the time to hide her expression, so she decided to just keep going with her train of thought regardless. "The only people I socialize with are my friends, but with the way their popularity is skyrocketing, pretty soon all we'll be doing when they find time for me out of their busy schedules is running from fans and paparazzi. My only family here in the city, or at least the only family here that I can stand to be around, has been out of town for some time now, and I certainly can't trust _you_ to keep me company when I need it." She kept his gaze, even when his eyes narrowed down to slits. At this point, he had to know where this was going, and wasn't pleased. "That all being said, it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to go out and meet new people, maybe invite someone over for company... Which is what I was planning to do with Hachiro―"

"You don't even know him." He smoothly cut in. "I find it impossible to believe that you'd invite a stranger into your house over me."

Renei snorted in a very un-lady-like way, and it would have almost been amusing to see, under different circumstances. "I'd prefer to take my chances with strangers, actually."

The nearly inaudible rustling of cashmere fabric and the smell of his heady cologne flooded her senses when Tora leaned over the table to put his face in front of hers. "You are playing the wrong kind of game with me right now, Nakajima." He spoke in a rumbling, silken voice. "I wisely advise you, not to."

Remaining level-headed, aside from the slight flush invading her cheeks, she bravely met his gaze. The smile had left her face, but the brilliant light in her eyes was there to stay; telling him without words that she welcomed the threat of his anger, or anything else he threw at her. In fact, it satisfied her a great deal to see that she could draw out such weakness in him. "Actually, I was 'playing' with someone else. A man who is plenty more fun, not to mention much easier to get along with, than you happen to be."

If looks could kill in that moment, she would have been burned alive by the amount of searing heat in his gaze. "Are you planning on acting like this for the rest of the night?" He spoke in the kind of dark, slow drone that usually would have frayed her nerves and make her want to start throwing things at him... But Renei wasn't going to let herself react. She was supposed to be as ruthless as him now, wasn't she? He'd given her a reason to change (and no, it wasn't to his liking), to fight and play dirty.

"Like what?" She crooned, even going so far as to bat her eyelashes a little while she also decided to lean in, as if in invitation.

"Like _that_." Tora grit as he sat back in his seat looking ready to kill something―her being the nearest target. Renei sensed that she may have taken things a step too far. For the first time since she'd met up with him tonight, she found herself remembering those important little things called boundaries and limitations, that helped people like her live longer when dealing with someone like Igarashi. "Unusually flamboyant and coquettish, fishing for something, but trying to hide that you're doing it." He couldn't seem to force the words out fast enough through his teeth, speaking in what was practically a hiss. "Like every other woman in the world out there, who just can't keep their hands off of me or anything else that comes along with the package."

"Do you need a repeat performance?" Renei's glossy, shell-pink lips stole his attention with the cruel, teasing smirk they formed; and up until that moment, Tora had never wanted to both strangle the breath out of someone and kiss them breathless at the same time. She was so many things―irritating, for starters. "Was it not obvious that it wasn't you I was putting my hands on?"

Renei was well aware that she had thrown caution to the wind, a new thing for her, and kind of invigorating, in a way. She felt none of the usual dread seeping into her bones when she noticed the look he gave her―something murky and sinful and twisted―boring into her sharply like daggers that pinned her in place and threatened to rip her to shreds. Perhaps Tora didn't quite know what to do with her new attitude, but tearing into her with a vengeance was probably one of the many unsavory things he had in mind for her. "Ah, so that's what this is." Came his icy drawl. "Now you're tempting men on purpose, rather than doing it unknowingly. Finally figured out that you actually _like_ doing it, have you Nakajima?"

Her brow furrowed. "Doing what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Leading men on. Do you want a reminder that badly?" It was his turn to smirk, and a spike of fear finally hit Renei when his hand landed, with the lightness of a butterfly, on her knee underneath the table. Such a simple touch could almost be taken as innocent, except for the fact that it wasn't. Indigo eyes flickered around the room quickly, trying to see if anyone else could tell what the blond young man was doing even with the coverage of the tablecloth. No one seemed interested in the two of them, however, and she wasn't sure which she felt more of―worry or relief. Her gut clenched awkwardly, as she grappled with slapping him and making a scene, or calmly sitting there and taking it for the sake of not giving him any satisfaction in seeing her react.

Her attention all but slammed back on to the smirking blond again when his hand started to travel, trailing up her bare thigh and coming to a rest just below the edge of her short skirt. Renei was starting to regret her choice of outfit for the night which, yes, it had been meant to appear tempting, which Nao had insisted on. Tora's fingers were as warm as she remembered them being, making her heart start up a frantic thumping inside of her chest, and her skin tingle beneath his touch. The feeling caused her eyes to widen as they stared back into his, which were two vats of molten gold, stinging her with their ever-present heat. "Do you not remember how you tempted me the other night?"

Her mouth opened, then snapped into a tight line when he brushed his thumb back and forth, slow and insistent, underneath the bottom edge of her skirt. "I did," Something like tense currents of electricity crackled in her gaze as she jerked her leg away from him, trying to make it look to anyone who might be watching them like she was simply readjusting in her seat, crossing one leg over the other off to the side. "No such thing."

"You," Her new position put the upper half of her body closer to the table, and he used that to his advantage as he leaned into her personal space again. "Made yourself," Faster than her breath could hitch, he had his fingers cupping her chin, tugging it toward him so that his breath could ghost across her lips ― the merest whisper of a caress. "An easy target."

"No, _I_ was in the shower with no idea that you would be there when I got out." Renei tucked her chin down, away from him, though what she really wanted to do was throw her drink in his face. Her hands clenched at the thought. " _You_ just let yourself in without permission."

"You didn't tell me you'd be missing school, skipping your duties to the council which _I_ am held responsible for―"

"I had someone handling that for me." She scowled when his hand cupped the side of her face, forcing her to look at him as a rough thumb smoothed over her cheek.

Tora's eyes narrowed and his lip curled in a show of displeasure. "You should have gone to me about it, and _not_ ," He stressed, voice curt. "the red head. Have you ever stopped to consider that perhaps whatever hair dye he uses has been leaking into his brain?"

"Don't." She practically ripped his hand from its resting place at her cheek and her eyes flashed, alerting him to the fact that he had crossed a line. In a passing thought, it occurred to him then how it bothered him, that insulting her flame-brained, not-so-secret admirer was what Renei considered to be crossing a line. "Yoshikawa does not deserve to be criticized by you. And why should it matter, who I went to for help?" Her voice was flat. Smooth, and delicate, like an undisturbed surface of water. It was in noticeable contrast to the feverish shine of frustrated, unwavering resolve in her gaze, and the rosy blush of anger across her skin.

"Am I not your fiancé?" Tora had meant for that to come out far less biting, far less frantic and so unlike himself―examined in the right light, you could even say that he had come dangerously close to sounding jealous. In the end, he supposed (hoped) that he really had just come across as resentful, which was the emotion closest to the truth.

That particular question laced with that particular emotion must have been the straw that broke the camel's back, because suddenly Renei was rambling... As she leaned over the table, quite close to his face. He blinked a few times in surprise at the proximity―only an inch of space separated them―but she was too caught up in her spillage of words to notice or care. "Last I checked, you didn't want to be. You're a misogamist, not too keen on the idea of being tied down, and you certainly don't want _me_ , specifically. You had been making that clear enough, until you _assaulted_ me the other night, trying to tease me into saying that I'm attracted to you in some way, as if you actually _want_ me to be attracted to you―which really makes me question your intentions of getting rid of me." Tora opened his mouth to say something, and Renei glowered at him. "Save your breath. Just stay quiet for once and let me say what needs to be said."

He glowered right back at her, but remained quiet as he thought over her words. Clearly she wasn't only upset about him breaking her rule about intimacy, as he had previously thought―no, apparently, she was also upset about what it might _mean_ for the two of them. And he wanted to say it meant nothing, but he had a peculiar feeling that would be something of a lie. It wasn't every day he acted purely out of impulse like that day at her apartment, after all.

And it _was_ impulse, because he certainly hadn't arrived at her apartment with the set intention to be so intimate with her against her will. He had visited her because he didn't like the thought of Yoshikawa going instead, and his only intent that day had been to rile her up, make her nervous with a little taunting and teasing because she _had_ caused some trouble for him at the school, so she deserved it to be put in her place... He just hadn't expected that place to be beneath him, in such a literal sense. Admittedly, things had gotten way out of hand somewhere towards the end of his visit, and he still wasn't sure why he went that far. He could say it was payback for her leaving student council duties unattended, or even payback for her relying on Yoshikawa for help with her injured hand rather than him (though that was an absurd thing to want payback for, it had bothered him enough for it), but any way you looked at it, his punishment had not fit the crimes. He had lost control, something which he had always prided himself on having stores of.

But for Christ's sake, he wasn't like Izaki, just pushing himself onto women who didn't want it right and left because he loved it when they put up a good fight―although, he did happen to enjoy the more defiant ones―he had never and would not ever have his way with someone who clearly didn't want it. Kissing and a little bit of stripping, sure, he'd gone ahead and overstepped those boundaries before just to make a point to a few different women (one of them being Misaki, and the others daughters of certain business associates who had been trying to swindle him). He knew his limits, though. It didn't matter if he was strong enough to force them, or even if he knew he could make it enjoyable for them. There are some lines you just don't cross.

Which begs the question: why did he cross one with Renei?

"What is even going on with you?" That was her voice again, echoing his own thoughts. Determined as she was, she continued her ramblings despite the fact that he was no longer looking at her. It was hard for him to keep looking at her, and not question so many things at once. "Why did you have to take things so far that time? It wasn't something you would do for no reason, and I keep looking for a reason, but I can't find any logical one that matches up with your personality. So, just... what were you _thinking_ , Igarashi, doing something like that to _me,_ of all people?"

Surprise hit him like the unexpected prick of a needle when Tora heard something different in her voice right then. It had cracked slightly with her last question, and a particular emotion had briefly peeked out at him through that crack. Those were fighting words she had spoken, or at least he was sure she had meant them that way, however there was a distinct _lack_ of fight, a lack of frustration and anger and cynicism, in them. Relatively speaking, she actually sounded more... Somber, than anything else. It was a dark, brooding sort of emotion he took note of; a hurt. Perhaps she felt something like disappointment, or betrayal? Most likely, it was something related to personal offense. He had no real way of telling what it was exactly unless he asked her. It went without saying, that he would be doing no such thing.

Something caught his attention in his peripheral vision, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "Sit back in your seat," His tone was calm, calmer than he felt. "Let's not make a scene, especially when our food has just arrived."

Renei's eyes widened comically, and she was quick to look over her shoulder as if she'd been caught doing something scandalous. Hachiro reached their table just as she scooted as far back into her chair as it would allow, and he flashed a smile at her that caused her to resume her act from earlier, offering him a silly little grin in return.

The two exchanged some flirtatious words again, not nearly for as long as the last time since Tora was staring rather pointedly at the other man with an expression that said he _would_ call for the manager, and then the argumentative couple was left alone at their table once more. They didn't resume their conversation, opting to enjoy the food before it got cold; and whether or not they would finish their discussion was something that just hung uncertainly in the air between them while they ate together in complete silence.

xx

"You go ahead and wait in the car, I have to use the restroom first."

Tora offered her only the slightest nod as he kept on walking, hands hidden somewhere deep inside his pockets. They'd hardly said a word to each other throughout dinner, dessert, and paying for the check―in fact, those were the first words she'd said to him since she had bombarded him with loaded questions at the table a couple of hours prior.

With a frustrated sigh, Renei fought back an eye roll and made a beeline for the narrow, dimly lit hall across from her that lead to the restrooms.

After using the toilet and splashing some water onto her face just to refresh herself a bit, she exited the room a short time later, checking a clock on the wall for the time as she went. A quarter to midnight, it read. No wonder there were significantly less people here now, she hadn't realized it had gotten so late. But then again, she and Tora showed up at nine thirty, so of course it would be this late by the time they were leaving.

All trivial thoughts about the time left her mind when she suddenly had to come to a stop in the middle of the hallway, staring blankly at the familiar handsome face of the man who blocked her path.

"Finally." Hachiro was still dressed in his uniform, but his bow tie was missing and the first few buttons of his shirt were undone. Car keys were glimmering in his left hand that was held up to his shoulder, the same hand holding a jacket that was thrust carelessly over said shoulder. His free hand was resting on the wall, the arm connected to it thrust out directly in front of Renei, which is why she couldn't progress any further. "I've been waiting to get you alone to myself all night." He winked. "So, your place or mine?"

 _Well._ Renei thought to herself. _This is awkward. Nao didn't say anything about having to deal with the collateral damage._ "Neither. My fiancé's waiting for me outside, and it's almost midnight."

"Who cares about the time? And screw that guy, don't you hate him or something?" He smiled, something that lit up his face... in all the wrong ways, now that she paid closer attention to it. "I know it's really me that you want. How does my place sound?"

"I don't hate him, and I don't want you. Could you please move out of my way, Hachiro-san?"

He did not miss the formalities she was using, nor did he miss the look in her eyes that said she was being completely serious. "Hey, what's with you?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Did that guy threaten you or something so that you'd stop flirting with me?"

"No." She could feel a headache coming on, and hoped that what she explained next wouldn't upset him too much. "Look, I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea, but the truth is that I was only using you to get on my fiancé's nerves. It's not something I'm proud of, I just..." Renei let out an impatient sigh. "Well, it's complicated, let's just leave it at that."

He stared at her for a moment, not looking in the least bit offended. "Complicated, huh?" In fact, he looked as if he were used to this sort of thing happening. "Sounds like you need to relax, Renei." There was something seductive in his voice, when he tried to reach out for her. Naturally, she took a step back, causing him to frown. "Trick or not, don't you still find me attractive?"

"It's Renei _-san_." Her tone left no room for argument, as her gaze met his with a hint of suspicion. "And I thought I already told you, I'm not interested."

"Well I am."

"Somehow, I do not feel very flattered."

His whole face dropped then, something that made him look dangerous with the lighting in the hall being as dark as it was. "Let's cut to the chase, _Renei_. I helped you out with making your man jealous, so now you owe me something in return."

Renei took another step backwards, growing more wary of him by the second. She was starting to think all of that flirting had been a mistake on her part, even if it helped her to get under Tora's skin. "If you are insinuating what I think you are, I'm amazed. I was under the impression that an establishment like this only hired gentlemen."

His grin was wry and wicked and quick to appear. "What, a gentleman can't ask a pretty lady for a kiss or two?"

"You won't even be getting one, so don't get your hopes up."

He shrugged it off. "I'm a hopeful guy." And with no warning whatsoever, he took a quick step toward her, grabbed her arm, and threw her against the wall where he closed the distance between their bodies. Staring into her wide, angry eyes, he chuckled a bit. "Aww, look at you, pressed between a rock and a hard place and still managing to give me an expression like that. Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen a woman glare at me like that before. In fact, I don't think I've ever upset a woman before, and I've been with a lot of them, too."

"I highly doubt that."

He looked confused for a moment. "Which part?"

"Everything you said having to do with women." Renei's tone was flat, her expression turning unimpressed. "Care to let me go anytime soon?" She had grown accustomed to this sort of behavior with Igarashi, and frankly, anyone else threatening her was a dull experience in comparison.

"No," He sounded more frustrated now, but that didn't get in the way of his stubbornness. "Not really. Playing hard to get like this, you're too much fun to talk to."

"If you enjoy being insulted and called out on your crap, then I suppose that's true."

His response was to laugh at her again, though his expression was half covered in darkness and she could sort of make out that there was some sort of smirk hidden in his features. The air in her lungs left her when he pressed closer to her, chest to chest, and whispered huskily into her ear, "Damn, that fiancé of yours is simultaneously the luckiest and unluckiest bastard of all time, if he gets to be with someone like you."

Renei had another catty remark ready and raring to go, but she ended up squeaking out something less than intelligible when he bit the top of her ear before laving his tongue over the same spot.

"Hehe," He sniggered. "What a cute reaction. Care to do it again for me?"

Raging embarrassment hit her like a slap to the face, and the thought of this man, or anyone else for that matter, possibly taking advantage of her again whipped Renei into action. It was purely instinct, honed over the course of her time practicing judo, that made her grab hold of the end of his arm, and the front of his vest, hook her foot behind the back of his leg, pivot, and throw him down onto the floor.

Time stood still as he groaned in pain, probably having landed on his keys, and he blinked up at her with his mouth hanging open and the breath knocked out of him.

As for his attacker, her mind was a blank slate with her face stuck into an expression of wordless shock. Her eyes were glued to the man sprawled on his back, who had been licking her one minute, and now... Had she really just done that? That was her first successful attempt at throwing someone off balance like that.

 _My god,_ through the deafening silence inside of her head, coherent thoughts were suddenly starting to stream in as pride inflated her chest. _That felt absolutely amazing. Should I feel terrible for feeling amazing? I mean, he_ was _being a jerk... A pushy jerk. I didn't do anything wrong, it was simply a case of self defense. Kentaro sensei would have praised me for it._

"Wh-what the hell is your problem, lady?!" Hachiro still hadn't gotten up yet, he looked a little petrified, actually.

Renei couldn't help but to be smug about it. " _You_ are my problem, obviously." She placed her hands on her hips and stood over him, smirking ever so slightly. "And one other guy. Tell me Hachiro-san, why is it that certain men are incapable of taking no for an answer?"

He just stared up at her, gaping at her with his eyes wide, like a fish, so she scoffed and turned to leave...

Only to find that the path in front of her was blocked again, this time by a grinning blond standing a few feet away. His whole frame was shaking in a show of silent laughter, meaning that he had most definitely been standing there long enough to see Hachiro getting thrown onto the floor.

"That was quite the move you pulled there." Tora's voice was filled with his snickering, making it sound relatively human for once―still wicked, but in a more childish sense.

"Igarashi." Renei was honestly more surprised to see him standing there, than annoyed. "I thought you were waiting in the car."

"I thought you might've run off with our waiter." His response was cool as ice, though he was still grinning even when the laughter died out. "You were taking a while, so I came to investigate."

"I was just about to leave―" She stopped talking when someone grabbed her hand from behind. Apparently, a certain perverted waiter had finally gotten over his shock at being thrown onto the floor by the woman whose pants he wanted to get into, and now he was ready to pester her again.

"You're not going anywhere yet." His voice was heavy and angry, but a bit flustered, as he stared her dead in the face. "You still owe me, and you owe me double now for pulling a stunt like that."

"I didn't pull a stunt," She grit out through her teeth, yanking her hand away from him. He just grabbed her other hand though, and pulled her up against his body again so that she couldn't pull away. "It was self defense, idiot." The last part of her sentence got another snicker out of Tora, who had started to approach when Hachiro grabbed her, only to think better of it a second later and stop to watch them again.

Grunting, Hachiro gave up on her for the time being and turned his attention toward their amused audience. "Hey man, listen. Your _slut_ here threw herself at me in order to get you jealous, giving me blue balls all night, and showing you an awful lot of disrespect. You probably don't want to deal with her anymore, right? And it's only fair that she pays me back for teasing me, isn't it? Can't we work something out here?"

Renei was too stunned to speak up, much less free herself from his grasp. The man had just made her sound like some sort of prostitute, and she had never thought anyone would dare to draw that comparison with her. Never.

Tora was equally as silent, all the laughter having left him abruptly, and he started walking over to the two of them again at a slow, steady pace. There had always been a certain effortless, cat-like grace to his movements, but right then, the fluidness of his walk looked less carefree and more like he was on the prowl. And the worst part was, you never knew when he was going to attack.

For once, however, Renei secretly hoped that he would. It would be great if, by some miracle, he would defend her honor in the face of such an asinine remark. But she had learned not to expect anything from him, good or bad, because he straddled the line between both. She had learned that Tora Igarashi, for all his seemingly predictable motives and actions, was full of surprises.

When he eventually reached the waiter's side, smoothly gliding to a stop a bit too close for comfort, he offered the man a friendly, open smile and spoke politely, almost too soft to hear―

"You really are an idiot."

Several things happened in quick, blurry succession after that. Renei was aware of Tora twisting the man's arm so that he would let go of her. He grabbed ahold of the guy and tossed him into the nearest wall―as if tossing fully grown males about the room was something he did on a regular basis. Hachiro let out a decidedly unmanly yelp as he slid down the wall to the floor, and shortly after that Tora's foot was slammed into the wall right next to where the other's head was leaning against it. The blond's hands were tucked into his pockets again, and that was all Renei could make note of after that, because his leg was blocking her view of Hachiro's face.

"D'you really think," Tora's voice was a leaden drawl while he looked down on his prey with glinting yellow eyes, his irises shining out against the shadows like a nocturnal animal's might. "That I'd marry such a frivolous woman as that? My fiancée is many things, but the one thing she is not, is some whore I rent out for fun. Her actions tonight were something brought on by myself, since I broke a rule between the two of us. Due to this, I am willing to take full responsibility for your troubles." His foot slid down the wall and landed with a sickening crunch on one of the other man's hands. It was another of Hachiro's pained cries that kept Renei from hearing Tora's next words, as he leaned down with a gruff whisper, "So keep your filthy hands to yourself unless you want me to break them, alright?"

Like the coward that he truly was, Hachiro had a healthy dose of fear in his eyes as he nodded his head to show that he understood. With a tsk of his tongue, Tora removed his foot from the man's hand and stepped back. His eyes widened when he stepped back into Renei, who unexpectedly settled a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"You didn't have to do that," Her breath was on the back of his neck, and he almost shivered. "But, thank you... For taking responsibility. It was... Nice..."

When he turned around to face her, she was wearing a puzzled frown, and her hand slipped away from his shoulder when she looked into his eyes and saw the surprise written in those bold, golden depths. She blinked, and it was gone, replaced by mischief and accompanied by a smirk.

 _Yes,_ She confirmed privately to herself. _Definately full of surprises..._

"You like seeing me throw men into walls for you a little too much, don't you Nakajima?"

She wanted to hit him for making her feel like thanking him. Her smile, when it managed to appear, was a wry, half-hearted, twitching thing. "About as much as you like seeing me throw them to the floor." Spinning on her heel, she didn't bother to look back at him or Hachiro as she walked up the hall. "Just take me home already, Igarashi. I've had enough excitement for one night."

xx

It had rained while they had been inside, Renei noted as she stared out the window into the slick streets spotted with little puddles here and there. She remained quiet so as not to disturb Tora, who was seated by the other window talking on the phone with who she had figured out by now was Vice President Maki's father. Turns out the restaurant they'd just eaten at was one of the many that the Maki Dining Group owned, and Tora had called the CEO in order to make sure that a certain waiter was fired.

He ended the call a minute later, pocketing his phone and smiling that cocky, good-for-nothing Igarashi smile of his.

"That's it?" He looked over at her when she spoke up, and quirked an eyebrow in question. "All you have to do is make one phone call, and you magically get your way?"

"I've done a lot for the man's son, our families happen to be very close." Tora shrugged as he put his arms behind his neck and leaned back comfortably. "I'd say I'm allowed to call in a favor every now and again. Plus, I don't think they want to risk having some idiot working for them, spoiling the good name of the company."

Renei released her breath in a condescending little 'cheh' sound. "It figures that you would be best friends with every CEO in Japan."

"Only the ones that truly matter." He admitted.

She studied him for a moment, in his perfectly relaxed state, with his blond hair ruffled slightly at the back of his head where it collided with the leather of the seats. He looked normal enough, but he just didn't talk right. Maybe he was a robot or something. A really, really realistic robot. "Are you even human?" Renei wasn't one to blurt, so she wasn't quite sure exactly where _that_ came from.

He glanced over at her, looking as if he wanted to take a nap if the way his eyes were slipping closed were any indication. "Depends on what your definition of human is." He smirked, lazily.

Okay, suspicious answer. "Well, you look human enough, I suppose..."

"Hn. Good to know."

"...But appearances can be deceiving."

"Indeed they can."

They were each eyeing the other person, as if to get a certain point across. Then his eyes slid all the way shut, and he ignored her in favor of dozing off as they drove.

"Hey, Igarashi."

He released a long, heavy sigh. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to start rambling like a mad woman?"

"I'm just curious."

"So are cats." Tora cracked an eye open and shot her a glare. "Did you hear the one about what curiosity did to the cat?"

"I'll still have eight lives left after this, won't I?"

"Eight more ways to kill you. Perfect."

"Is that a cat pun?"

He winced at that. "No. What do you want, Nakajima?"

Sitting up straight in her seat, Renei turned her body towards him and clasped her hands as a serious look came over her face. "I have developed a theory behind why you attacked me in my bedroom."

"Is that all you think about? Me, you, in a bedroom together?" His eyes were wicked as they tossed a sultry look her way. "'Attacking' one another?"

Ignoring that, Renei decided that the best course of action was to just... say it all at once. Hopefully he would provide her with only minimal interruptions. "You showed me your own rare form of kindness at your mother's gala. You stood up for me in front of our parents, got Izaki off of my back before he took things too far, and showed your concern over the state of my well-being while I was drunk and injured that night."

"Ever stopped to consider that maybe I was drunk myself?"

"But then you must have realized how _nice_ you had allowed yourself to be, how _human_ your actions were, and you just had to cover that up. You couldn't let me think that maybe, you can be decent. Maybe, you have a softer, more personable side to you. No, you had to crush any hope I had of that by doing something you knew I'd never forgive you for." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him, wondering if he was registering any of this. "It all goes back to your one true flaw: not knowing how to trust anyone."

Tora didn't exactly yawn and pretend to be falling asleep, but he did fix his eyes on her with a recognizable shortage of interest while offering his voice in a slow complaint, "Are you finished?"

With the way she met his eyes with a scowl on her face, he knew there was a lot of tension boiling underneath that still surface of hers. He kept his own gaze settled into a cool, liquid depth of calm, and when she didn't say anything for a while, he sat up and slid over to her side. It just wasn't any fun when she went all quiet like that.

"What's the matter, Renei?" He touched her face, an action which was smoothly executed and firmly detached from the rest of him; his voice like frost slowly creeping up a windowsill. "Were you under the impression this whole evening, that you were going to make some sort of breakthrough with me?"

"Yes," The bluntness of her reply made his eyes narrow. "I was." There was a confusing moment then where she proceeded to, with no warning whatsoever, press her body directly into the curve of his, where it fit rather snugly. Her arm slid around his shoulders, a hand curling behind his neck. Her fingers brushed along the fine hairs that stood on end there, her nails scratching lightly against skin.

Suddenly, he found himself trapped by the very woman who had been avoiding him for the past week. And like an old friend, her overwhelming scent of cherry blossoms greeted his senses.

Tora stared into her eyes, all too aware of her curves and bare skin and warm breath. He briefly envisioned devouring her lips in a harsh kiss, just to turn the tables the way they were supposed to be. _She_ was not the one who did these sort of things to _him;_ these actions of hers tonight, the moves she was using, they were all his. And he wanted them back.

Swiftly, he switched their positions by pinning her down against the leather cushions of the car with his hands placed on either side of her head.

"That's better―" He had started to gloat when her voice, or rather the sound behind her voice, cut him off.

"You know, it's interesting," The purr she spoke in was sin, delicious sin, there was no better word for it. Another trademark of his that she had stolen for herself, it seemed. "The simple things that make you tick." Her lids lowered, she bit her lip, and her blond captor growled a deep, gravelly sound. She had expected that reaction, and it felt good to know that she was finally starting to figure him out to the point of predicting what moves he was going to make. "And how easy it is to use them against you."

"You are..." His eyes settled on her lips again, his own drawn up in a smirk. "Tempting." He finished simply.

Renei grabbed ahold of the front of his sweater and pulled him down to her, bringing her mouth to his ear as if to tell him a secret. "Too bad you'll never have me in the way that you want me." She whispered back, a smirk of her own dancing across her features.

Tora leaned away with a grunt, and for a while after that he seemed content to just hover over her for as long as he pleased, making no move to get off of her. He stared the temptation down in the dead silence of the back seat of the limousine, looking as if he were pondering something. "Woman," His voice was soft, when he finally used it again. Much, Renei decided with a sharp intake of breath, too soft. "It is truly ironic that you wonder why I don't bother to trust you."

She shoved him away, or was going to, but he just pulled away to sit up instead. Somehow, she just realized that when he was that intimate, that intense, he took intimidating to a whole other level. "You're looming, Igarashi." It was the only comeback she had.

"You're blushing, Nakajima." He said, even though there was no possible way he could see that with how dark it was outside and inside of the car. "You look good in red. Good enough to eat."

"It's a good thing you already had a full meal at the restaurant, then." She stated dryly, then tilted her head in a considering manner as she sat up as well. "Are you aware of how creepy certain things are going to sound before you say them? Or were you simply born with the misfortune of not having a filter between your brain and your mouth?" She scowled, mostly to herself since she had not meant to say it so snarky like that; she didn't really know who she was at the moment. Heck, she didn't know who she had been all night, really.

Igarashi was a hairsbreadth away from her in the next instant, taunting her with his closeness again, only this time she hadn't been prepared for it. His face had suddenly just, floated into her line of sight through the dimness and completely taking her off guard. Startling as it was, Renei held back a gasp and scrambled backwards―into the window, of course. Did he plan these things ahead of time, one had to wonder, or was he just forever blessed with convenient places to pin women against? "Are you aware," And aware she was, at least of the finger he was trailing down her cheek, past where her earrings dangled, and down along the line of her neck. It didn't stop until it brushed her collarbone and a bare shoulder, making her body quiver as if in the aftershocks that followed an earthquake. "Of how tempted I was to join you in the shower that day?"

Her eyes narrowed, seeking out his own and searching for the truth just as soon as she could regain control over herself. "Then why didn't you?" It was one of the many things she'd been meaning to ask him, one of the many things that baffled her. If he was so lascivious and wicked and without morals, only ever thinking of himself and his needs, then why hadn't he taken full advantage of her the minute he arrived at her apartment? It was almost as if he hadn't planned on doing anything to her, until after the video chat she had with her siblings that got him interested in whether or not she was attracted to him, and then he sort of ran wildly with that idea out of nowhere. None of it made sense!

It was brief, the flicker of some emotion on his face when he heard her abrupt question, and then his smirk was there and he was teasing her in a lazy tone, "I was too busy picking out an outfit for you in case things got steamy between us in the bedroom, remember?" He hummed fondly at the memory. "Frilly underwear, black bow, black bra?"

Oh right, _of course_ , because any man would sooner go through a woman's selection of underwear and bras rather than join her in all her naked glory in the shower. What did he take her for, a fool? And she wasn't going to get distracted by her embarrassment of him seeing her underclothes, either, so reminding her of that wouldn't do him any good. Truly, she wasn't a fool.

"Could it be," Renei almost wanted to reach out and trace the outline of his face, if only to make sure that he was real, that this moment with him in it was really happening. Did it make any sense in this world for Tora Igarashi to have a conscience? It was unheard of, nothing but a myth, her friends would tell her. He was supposed to be nothing but selfish, cruel, perverted, manipulative... Everything she'd seen from him so far. And yet... And _yet_... "That I have made some sort of breakthrough with you after all?"

His eyes flashed in the darkness that surrounded them, and she couldn't read the look that they held. "Why do I get the feeling," For a heavy, breathless moment, he hovered closer and she almost did touch him. Her fingers twitched. His voice was something along the lines of unamused, listless, with his next words. "That you're thinking about putting your hands all over me in the same manner as when you were flirting with our waiter?"

She tore her eyes away from him with a huff and scooted back from him enough to fold her arms. He was acting as though it didn't bother him as much as she knew that it did, everything that had happened at the restaurant. Why couldn't he just be honest with himself, or with anyone, namely her, _for once?_ And why did she almost feel, just a little bit guilty? He deserved to feel useless every now and again. He deserved to feel frustrated and angry and sad and desperate and jealous, if he were capable of jealousy. Which, she was starting to think that he was.

She was also starting to think that maybe he did have a moral compass, and maybe it wasn't completely broken. But arguing about that without proof to back herself up was rather pointless, wasn't it?

"I was right." And then she was touching him, surprising the both of them with how gentle her hand was as it traveled over his brow bone, letting his bangs tickle the tops of her fingers. It was a movement almost like brushing the hair out of his face, in order to truly see what he looked like behind where they fell. "You _are_ impossible." _And maybe a little tempting, yourself, but I would never openly admit that like you did to me._

Tora grabbed her hand. "And yet..." He let the rest of his sentence hang in the air, and then he was looking past her. She could see his face better now, with the light from a street lamp outside spilling in through the window he had her up against. "We're here."

There were movements, clothes brushing, a door opening, lightly frigid air meeting the flushed skin of the two inhabitants of the back of the vehicle.

"I would say goodnight," Renei stood by the curb with the car door still opened, lingering. "But it hasn't exactly been one of those, so..." Her face suddenly dropped, twisting into a far less than pleasant expression, and she released her hold on the door in favor of crumpling to the wet pavement with a sharp gasp. "Ngh!"

From his seat in the car, Tora watched the event unfold with his eyes quickly becoming as big as saucers. He was out on the street with her in the next moment, slamming the car door shut behind him, wondering what the hell was going on, seeing as she was perfectly fine two seconds ago. Why would she collapse for seemingly no reason at all? It looked a little worse than the food having hit her wrong...

The tall brunette was currently heaving for breath as she crouched on the ground, one hand clutching her side and the other clawing those pretty nails of hers against anything she could reach. There was a pause where he froze, examining her from above and feeling unsure of what to do―but when she grabbed onto his pant leg and clutched it for dear life, pinching the skin beneath in the process, he let out the breath he'd been holding in and knelt down awkwardly next to her on the side of the road. The smell of rain permeated his senses, but it was probably just the wet pavement, not the clouds. He hoped. He'd rather not get rained on while trying to deal with some sort of emergency situation.

"You were fine up until now, so what could possibly be wrong with your stomach so suddenly?" He sounded aggravated, because anxious wasn't really his thing.

"I don't, aughh, _god_ ," Violet eyes squeezed shut as their owner groaned in some sort of agony. "I'm not sure if it's my stomach, or what, I just― _Something hurts_ ―"

"Yes, I can see that." The blond reacted calmly, his face collected into a blank slate; though his eyes never left her for a second. "So, what? Do you think you need a hospital? I can drop you off if you do."

Renei struggled to stand back up again, which he figured must be a good sign, and he rose with her; though he wasn't expecting her to use him as a crutch. What, she was dizzy, too? Wonderful, his mind sarcastically supplied. "I don't need your help." Renei hissed as she lurched, unbalanced, to one side.

It didn't take him long to make a decision. Making intelligent split second decisions was the mark of a good businessman, after all. "I'll take you to the hospital." His tone was bored, as if he had nothing better to do with his time, so he might as well offer her some assistance.

"Igarashi, I don't need you to―"

"Shut up and get back in the car."

"But you don't have to help me." Her gaze met his weakly, like she was about to faint. He made sure to put an arm around her back, in case that she did. "You're tired, and I can call an ambulance on my own..." She trailed off as another pained groan bubbled up from her throat.

Tora was rolling his eyes at this point, unamused by such antics―damsels in distress were far less attractive when they were sick. "No," He muttered as he kept one arm behind her back and used his free hand to reopen the car door. "It's fine, I don't mind taking you to the hospital myself." His voice was tight as she squeezed his arm in an iron grip and doubled over with a gagging sound. "If you throw up on me..." He warned lowly.

"I'm not going to, and I don't need you babying me like this." She was wincing with each word she spoke, as if it hurt to talk. "If you're that uncomfortable," Her eyes met his in a glare. "Then just back off and leave me to deal with this on my own."

"I am trying," He could feel his composure slip in the next second, allowing the irritation to come through in his voice. "To _help_ you." The moment was reminding him too much of the last time he'd offer to help her while she was in pain, and she blew him off. (Not to mention she went to another guy for help with it instead.)

"Why on earth would you want to help me? You don't even like me!"

"Renei," He grabbed her by the shoulders harshly and gave her a look―a look that was sharp, and commanding, and powerful. It was the look he used to get anyone, at any time, to drop everything and listen to him. "Are you really _so_ _stubborn_ that you would sooner die than accept my help?"

At that, she went perfectly still, lowering her head so that he couldn't see her expression. He let her stay like that for all of thirty seconds, before he got impatient. " _What_ ―"

"I'm not going to die, Igarashi, stop being so dramatic. Was that a hint of concern I caught in your tone somewhere?"

Before he could react in anything but shock to how normal she suddenly sounded, Renei continued talking with her face hidden from his view.

"Are _you_ really so stubborn, that you won't accept the fact that you actually have morals, too, like the rest of us do?" She straightened up without any problem whatsoever, and Tora's hands immediately dropped from her shoulders at the look on her face―she was _smirking_. "What happened to kicking someone while they're down? What about sticking to your own agenda? I thought you just didn't care, couldn't find the time of day to care, even if someone was struggling right before your eyes." As she spoke, Renei watched him intently, preparing herself for the storm that was to come as she saw his flickering eyes change rapidly from bewilderment, to comprehension, to a clear-cut vexation, sharp as the drop off a cliff. "But didn't we just witness that you _do_ care, enough to offer your help to me even when I deny it? Simply because you know that I need it?" Her smirk broadened, reaching her eyes now, making them twinkle with mischief and so many untold 'I-told-you-so's. She had found proof of his moral compass, even if she had used a dirty trick to dig it up.

Tora shoved her away from him―hard―as if she had just told him there was a bomb strapped to her back.

" _You_ ―" He started, voice deep and low and every type of snappish, clawing, grating thing all at once. His eyes, were a whole other dangerous thing entirely. "Why the _hell_ would you pull a stunt like that?!"

"Do you really expect me to cower and be intimidated by you," She cocked an eyebrow at him as he approached her looking like a demon straight out of the fiery pits of hell, come to burn her alive. "Now that I've caught a few glimpses of the good in you?"

"Do not act," There was something inside Tora, he was aware of in that moment, that wanted desperately to snap. But it didn't; for some reason, he maintained full control unlike last time. "As though you know me so well." He finished with a formidable air, looming over her again as if it was what came to him naturally, every time they went around and around with their little games like this.

Renei felt completely unmindful of the consequences behind her actions at this point, and slowly raised the other eyebrow as if to mock his statement. "I at least know you better than the next person does."

"Hmn." With a sound like a rumbling purr, Tora leaned further into her space; hair falling gracefully into his eyes, a wild, extravagant grin showing off his sharp baring of teeth―like a sly Cheshire cat with razor-like canines poking out. "You _are_ naïve." He studied her lips for a moment, allowing her to know, to see from the look on his face, _exactly_ what he was thinking. "Lucky me, that means you make easy prey."

Although Renei had been seriously wondering about his intentions for a while now, and trying to separate who he was from what he pretended to be, she had an itching, tiny feeling that he didn't see her as merely 'prey'. Because when she was the one to step back and take a good, long, hard look at him, he wasn't merely 'predator', either.

"Well then." Her voice was all sorts of calm. "If I turn around and leave right now, are you going to follow me inside? Use that key I didn't give you and sneak in again? I'm sure you've been dying to crawl into bed with me, even if it's against my will, that shouldn't matter to someone like you. It's certainly never stopped you before, no matter how many times I told you no last time, you just..." She blinked, suddenly left staring at the back of his sweater as he walked back to his car. Had he just? Was he _running away_ from this, from her? From confrontation? What was he, a child who didn't want to face the fact that he'd been caught with his hand _out_ of the cookie jar, for once?

He stopped, just before opening the door again, and with his back turned to her so that she couldn't hope to know anything about whatever he was thinking, or feeling, in that moment. Renei waited patiently, even when the rain started to fall down―slowly at first, then heavier and heavier the longer the two of them stood there, until it was pouring down in sheets.

By the time her clothes were all the way soaked through, and she's sure his were as well, Tora yanked open the car door, climbed inside, and slammed the door shut behind him without a single word.

And Renei watched his car drive away until it was completely out of sight, shivering in the cold and wet and wondering who and what the hell he was.

Frankly, she didn't even know who or what the hell she was anymore, either.


	20. Sharks

A/N: I promise I've actually been working on this chapter (and the next) every day or so, trying to get them finished and uploaded, but I do also go to work for most of the day and by the time I get home I usually take a much-needed nap before writing. Then it's pretty late in the evening by the time I start writing, and I have to go to bed at a decent time in order to get up early in the morning for work the next day. Thus, you can see my dilemma...

But I finally have this particular weekend free, so I finished chapter 20! *crowd goes wild*

As always, thanks for the patience and I hope you enjoy~ ^-^ Also I seriously love you all, thank you for reviewing and following and favoriting this story. Unfortunately I am not going to be answering reviews in my author's notes anymore, so if you have any queries or simply want to talk, PM me or post a review from your own account so that I can PM you in answer. I am unable to respond to guest reviewers.

Just adding an fyi here: for personal info (fun facts and the like, not my social security or anything lol) about me you can go to my profile :)

*heart* Thanks again guys!

CK:*

* * *

"We are all sharks circling, and waiting, for traces of blood to appear in the water." ― Alan Clark

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Chapter Twenty

Sharks

...

Sanyu didn't bother to knock, or listen to anyone's words of warning, as she entered the Student Council President's office with a sharp smile gracing her lips. The smile turned into a smirk when she seemed to have surprised him, something that wasn't easy to accomplish, as he looked up from where he sat on the sofa with the slightest widening of those bright, deep yellow eyes. He was leaning back with the casual air of someone who had sat like that for hours; one long leg bent with the ankle resting on the knee of the other, an elbow propped up on the sofa's arm, and his free hand holding up a report he seemed to have been mulling over before her sudden arrival.

She wouldn't go so far to say as she had fallen for him (for Sanyu Rulin did not fall for men, she rather preferred capturing them as her own, once she deemed them a worthy target), but he did have the tendency to take her breath away without having to even try.

Those murky gold orbs moved to flicker over her head at the open door, where several Student Council members were attempting to apologize to him for letting her pass. Tora had strictly told everyone that he was not to be disturbed, unless of course, some sort of emergency sprouted up. And some girl wanting his attention was no emergency.

Nonetheless, he would let her in. Of this, Sanyu was certain, because she had never been rejected before.

"Rulin-san." His voice was warm, to everyone else's relief, as he nodded toward the young woman in a manner that seemed to say it was more or less okay for her to be there. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" A winsome smile graced his features.

Her glare was enough to make the few stragglers at the door run off back to their own work, leaving the young woman and the President be. Sanyu shut the door with a light 'click' and strolled across the room until she was standing between the coffee table and the sofa, staring the effortlessly gorgeous young man down with an expectant expression, her hip cocked slightly to one side, and a manicured hand resting upon it.

"I feel as though I haven't seen you in _ages_." Came her flippant complaint.

"And I suppose you think it's only proper, for me to concern myself over your feelings?" His voice retained its warmth, but it seemed to be there merely as a means to mock her now while his eyes trailed back to the report, and his smile faded into nothing.

"Don't be like that," Sanyu pouted, tossing caramel curls of hair over her shoulder with the flick of her other hand. "Out of all the women you've got at your beck and call, I know I've become your favorite. So how about you start treating me like it, hmm?"

"I do not have the free time to give you any special treatment." Lazily, he held up the report for her, as if she hadn't seen it yet. "There are always things that need doing around here. You're getting in the way of my work, woman, and I have a lot to get done."

Sanyu's natural response was to take the papers from his grasp and throw them behind her without a care in the world of where they landed. Tora pursed his lips, but said nothing, and promptly after that she settled down beside him on the couch; freely making herself comfortable in his domain, as if it were her very own to claim.

"Ah yes, I am well aware." Her voice held a false warmth to it too, but she wasn't as gifted as him in masking the annoyance that hid behind it. "You've been _working_ nonstop these past few days, and I am bored to death of it. I haven't even caught a glimpse of you at lunch! It would seem you've taken to locking yourself in here for nearly the entire school day, doing _paperwork_ of all things!" She snorted in disgust, before giving him a curious look. "I always assumed you had others to do that for you. And do you even attend your classes anymore? I wait for you in the hallway, and you are never there."

"I don't have to attend classes in order to pass them." Tora pulled a different report from the stack on the table, eyeing it as if it were far more interesting than their ongoing conversation. Apparently, he couldn't be bothered to get up and retrieve the ones she'd thrown behind her. "I merely attend when I feel like it, to give the appearance that I am participating the same as everyone else. It just wouldn't do to have other students telling their parents that the teachers are playing favorites, now would it?" He gave her a pointed look. "And as the Student Council President, I am supposed to be opposed to favoritism."

She stiffened, and again snatched the report from his hands. "Would you really rather work than share my company? Take a break, at least! It's been three days of this―this―this nonsense!"

He reached out calmly for another report on the table, looking her right in the eye as he did so as if to prove that her antics didn't phase him. "Call it what you will, Sanyu, it's not as though what I'm doing is a crime. All of my absences have been excused due to the fact that I have a job to do on the Council. And quite frankly, I have not been in the mood to do anything other than work, so I am in no rush to leave my office any time soon."

"And why is that?" She was leaning further into his space, peering at him in a hawk-like way that reminded him of his mother, eerily enough. "Are you... Avoiding something?"

Golden eyes turned a shade darker at that, glimmering with untold emotions that it would take a mind reader to fully grasp. Tension crackled through the air like a lightning strike, there for an instant and gone in the next, before his gaze returned to normal. "The reason isn't important." Tora answered slowly, vaguely, while diverting his attention back to the new set of papers he had grabbed.

Aqua-colored eyes narrowed. "You're lying. It is important. What could possibly make you deny everyone―even _me_ ―so suddenly? You couldn't possibly have _that_ much work to do all at once, and why on earth you would even _want_ to do it all at once is complete―"

"You act as though it matters, whether I am lying or not. As if I owe you my complete honesty." His tone was breezy, unbothered, bored. "Leave me be today, Rulin. I have more work to complete, and it's not as though you can't get by without me." He smirked, without meeting her gaze, before tacking on a dry remark, "Unless, of course, you've developed an addiction to me just as the countless women who came before you have."

"If I had to guess," Sanyu's voice was like the cutting edge of a knife, her anger clearly shown all over her face as she ignored his orders to leave, along with his teasing. She would be having none of that. She was too smart to let him belittle her so easily. "I'd say something, or rather _someone_ , has gotten the better of you." When she noticed the slightest stiffening of his posture beside her, it was her turn to smirk. "Ah, is that it? You had some sort of encounter that put you in a bad mood due to this and that or something or other, I don't know what, but I bet I could figure it out."

"I thought I told you to le―"

"Did it happen the night you took that дурак out to dinner? You seemed to be perfectly fine before then. Naturally, I can assume _she_ is responsible for all of this." Sanyu rambled on excitedly, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands about dramatically as she spoke. "And now you're trying to lose yourself in your work in order to find some temporary solace from your thoughts of her, aren't you?"

"And since when did you start thinking," He shot her a brief glance, a far too cool, uncaring glance, past the paper he was, or had been, reading. "That you're such an expert on my moods?" His smile was sharp, yet amused even as it was forced to appear.

"Perhaps I have always known more than you think. I _am_ very perceptive." This time when she swiped the report from him, Sanyu made a big show of ripping it in half. And to her satisfaction, the President's eyes narrowed in a very real, very obvious annoyance.

Tora opened his mouth to speak, and she cut him off quickly again, openly venting now that she had the chance. "Can I just say that I am sick of being ignored for another woman, one who doesn't even want you like the rest of us do? Do you not agree that it's simply... unfair? I can handle all the others who throw themselves at you, but when she doesn't even try for your attention, yet has it anyway―my god, that foolish woman doesn't even appreciate what she has, doesn't take _any_ advantage of it at all! What's even more upsetting is that she's somehow ruining you for the rest of us, clearly, if your odd behavior is anything to go by. In whatever little games the two of you have built your relationship upon, she's playing you more for a fool than you are playing her for one, at this point!"

There was a sudden beat, where his eyes were wide and so were hers, the room fell quiet and the air barely stirred save for when Sanyu gasped, and clasped both hands over her mouth. The silence, which only lasted for a few measly seconds, was deafening as they both absorbed the fact that she had just called _him_ a fool; him―someone who had all the power and the means to make her life, or anyone's life for that matter, a living hell if he ever wished to. And that was exactly why you never crossed an Igarashi. There were... stories. Stories that were all too real to simply be taken as gossip.

Not only that, but Sanyu fancied Tora quite a bit, and she was always so careful to not do anything that would hurt her chances with him.

With cheeks flushed and worries flying around her head, she could only stare at him in a strange mixture of anxious and mesmerized, knowing two things for certain right then: first, that he was pissed, and second, that it was her fault for overstepping a boundary that she should have known better than to get within even a mile's radius of.

There was a third idea there too, one she wanted more than anything to ignore, but it was there nonetheless. Judging by the look that he was giving her―something dark, heavy, and deep―the more specific topic of his ongoing competition with his fiancée was one that she shouldn't have broached... Not today. Not right now. And maybe, not ever.

And all because, Sanyu realized with a shock, that unappreciative bitch he played around with really _had_ gotten the better of him somehow.

This was the single piece of information that left even someone as expressive as Sanyu not knowing what to say. "Tora, about you and that woman, I didn't mean to― You aren't really a fool, I just―"

He pulled her down onto the cushions without a word. Hovered over her with one hand next to her head and the other slowly loosening his tie. The actions were fluid and not even the slightest bit hesitant, and they happened faster than a blink.

Tora's next words were not to be questioned, spoken in a low tone of warning. "I am going to give you what you want for now, but before I do, you're going to take a vow of silence and forget that this little talk ever happened. Is that clear?"

Sanyu's eyes glittered with objections, but seeing the look on his face, she kept her mouth shut and nodded her head.

"Good." When his lips crashed onto hers, all she could think about was that there was something desperate about his eyes, right before his hair covered them and he leaned down to connect their lips more greedily, more feverishly than she was used to getting from him―as if he wanted to kiss her until she had no more thoughts about what they'd just been discussing.

And as much as she loved his attentions... She didn't like that it was being used to distract her. She wouldn't allow it, and she wouldn't forget. In fact, she was definitely going to look into the matter further.

Though Sanyu had not seen any need to treat Renei as a threat before, since she hadn't been given reason to. After all, the other girl had never shown anything close to a romantic interest in Tora... But now, something seemed to have changed, though it was hard to tell what had.

Whatever the case may be, one thing was for certain. There was no way that another woman, without even having to _try_ , would steal a prize like Igarashi out from under a headstrong Rulin. Rulins always get what they want, no matter what it is or how long it takes to get it. Always, without fail. The fact that Tora has a fiancée never deterred someone like Sanyu, and if he did end up getting married, it still wouldn't stop her from indulging in what she wants.

And what she wants is Tora Igarashi.

xx

Renei had been quiet and contemplative over the past few days.

Mostly, she was lying low, filled with a nagging anticipation for Tora's act of revenge, or any sort of confrontation with him that he initiated, which could happen at any given moment. Surely, he wouldn't just leave things as they were, letting her think that he had run away from her the other night.

He had shown her a weakness, and she was fully prepared for him to prove just how powerful he could be after that incident.

Surprisingly though, he hadn't done anything yet. In fact, he seemed to have withdrawn as much as she had, becoming equally as quiet and contemplative. Which she actually supposed wasn't all that surprising, after all, considering the amount of new information they each had to absorb about the other. Both of them had been shocked that night at the events that took place.

Who would have thought that she could be ruthless and he could be harmless?

Neither of them knew what to believe about the other anymore. But whatever he might think of her aside, Renei just hoped she wouldn't have to go to such extremes to get the truth out of him ever again. Anyone, even Igarashi, deserved better than the way she had treated him that night. Even if he had crossed a line by going to where she lived and physically making a move on her, she feared she might have gone too far with her revenge. In the first place, she wasn't even the type, usually at least, to ever wish for revenge like that... There was just something about Igarashi that brought out all the bad in her. Likewise, as a form of payback or not, she brought out the good in him.

With the way they both looked at it though, it was a lose-lose situation.

And Renei still felt the guilt churning in her gut due to her recent actions. It couldn't be helped, she supposed, since the arts of seduction and manipulation didn't come naturally to her... Or maybe the fact that they _did_ come naturally is what bothered her. How she wanted to look at it, though, was that it was just a part she had had to play, and that was all―albeit, a part she turned out to be remarkably _good_ at playing, but still. She wasn't necessarily proud of that. It did, in fact, worry her.

Unlike Igarashi, who apparently could lead a life of seduction and manipulation without being torn apart by guilt and was, in fact, proud of it.

Thoughts like that reminded her of why she had taken things so far the other night at dinner. He wasn't by any means a pleasant person, and certainly deserved to be thrown off his game every once in a while. His ego was far too large, and he was so very infuriating... Yet she still felt bad about the way she had basically 'attacked' him.

The guilt she felt wasn't solely for his sake, however. The person Renei was when she had first arrived in the city would be appalled at how low she had stooped now. That betrayal to herself, along with the way Tora had left her that night in the rain, refusing to take full advantage of her even when he was so angry and frustrated with her, is what made her feel such a nagging sense of guilt.

And so, as if in her own form of silent apology, when Tora skipped his classes, Renei let it slide, and when he locked himself up in his office, she turned a blind eye. She'd bothered him enough, for once, and vice versa. They both deserved a break from dealing with each other. Everything between them had gotten far too... personal, lately. Each person had crossed a line they shouldn't have with the other. And crossing lines, pressing boundaries using such underhanded methods, was not how she had hoped to form a closer relationship with her husband-to-be.

But maybe that didn't matter at this point. Maybe, she should try accepting that this is simply the way their relationship was meant to be. They tolerated each other, they challenged one another. And that was all there was to it, right?

As she was mulling this over, Sanyu burst into the Student Council demanding to see Igarashi, causing Renei to twitch and hold back an eye roll. Yet she was not one of the people who tried to stop the other woman; instead, she watched calmly, almost as if seeing it from another plane of existence, as she caught a glimpse of Tora accepting Sanyu into his office and the door closing behind them and, no doubt, being locked into place to avoid any interruptions.

When Renei turned back to the work at her desk, she noticed that she had pressed down hard enough with the pencil to make the point snap, creating a smear of lead on the page.

"Shi―" She caught herself before the curse word had fully formed. "Crap." The mark was quickly erased and a pencil sharpener was pulled out from one of the drawers.

She should have expected this, after all, Sanyu was his most persistent admirer. In fact, it was odd that the woman hadn't come to him sooner within the past few days, but then, maybe she had been waiting for Tora to call on her. But had he resorted to that, or did she come in today on her own accord?

"Oh, what does it matter, when either way the end result is the same." Renei mumbled as she brushed eraser shavings from her desk.

What the two of them may or may not be doing during their time alone together was no concern of hers, she firmly reminded herself. It was bizarre, though, how any thoughts regarding that started an unwanted fluttering in her stomach. She wasn't sure if she simply didn't care at all about that type of thing anymore (Tora being with other women), or if she cared about it now more than ever. But she did know that she wished it to be the former. Really, it wasn't a train of thought she liked to stay on board for very long, and so she wouldn't. Especially where a spitfire like Sanyu Rulin was concerned. One never quite knew when that woman was going to detonate.

Good god, but really! Renei felt she was going to give herself the worst of headaches if she didn't stop _thinking_ so much, about something as complicated as having any sort of relationship with Tora. Her grades and her work on the Student Council are what she _should_ be focusing her attention on, especially if she wanted to eventually get into a prestigious music academy without riding any coattails. After all, just because you were naturally talented (so much so that she didn't even need to practice much, in fact, though admittedly she should start practicing more if only for the enjoyment of it), that didn't mean they'd just _let_ you in. You had to have good marks on your regular schoolwork, too. And speaking of that, she had a fair amount of work to get done before her next class was to start.

Unfortunately, it was just as Renei's mind was beginning to settle into some form of order, refocusing to the task of finishing the paperwork she'd been assigned for the day, that another distraction made itself known.

"Ugh, this sucks! For some reason, the President stuck me―not _you_ , but _me_ ―with all the paperwork for the transfer of that new student." Izaki popped by her desk, and slumped back against it with a sigh. In his arms, he held a large folder, presumably holding the paperwork he'd just mentioned.

Indigo eyes flickered quickly from the closed door of Tora's office, to the papers sitting at her desk, to the vile person interrupting her peace. Renei sighed and allowed her shoulders to droop ever so slightly, tapping her pencil against the desk in irritation. Once upon a time, she had been exceptionally skilled at laser-focusing her mind on just one single thing at a time. Now, she'd be lucky enough to not have more than a dozen thoughts flying around her head, chaotically crashing into one another. She'd really have to hone her skills again at getting rid of all distractions. "Izaki. I'd like to think that it would be very clear to you at this point, that we are not close enough for you to come to me venting about your problems." She spoke to him in a dry, detached sort of way, wanting nothing more than to flick him away like a stray pencil shaving.

He set the folder down on her desk, covering up what she had been working on and leaning into her personal space, despite the clear message her tone of voice was sending. And to her utter dissatisfaction, he was grinning rather delightedly, like a schoolboy given an early summer vacation. "You responded to me with more than a glare, for once, Nakajima... I'm gonna count that as progress in our relationship!" The grin widened.

"All hopes of the two of us having any sort of functioning relationship went out the window when you made advances on me without my permission." Renei reminded him, this time making sure to tack on her usual glare (reserved specially for him) with the words. As always his charm, unlike how it positively affected every other student he came across, did not work on her. Especially not after their... encounter in the Igarashi gardens.

"If I could find it in my heart to forgive you for punching me in the face―which hurt like a bitch, by the way―then can't you find a way to forgive me as well? All I asked for was a little kiss~" His voice was less hopeful and more of a teasing joke, like he thought her anger towards him was somehow amusing. "Admit it, you just overreacted."

She did not share in any of his amusement. "No, I don't believe that I can forgive you, and no, I did not overreact. I also don't require your forgiveness, since my actions were fully validated. You were certainly asking for more than a kiss." She paused, giving herself a moment to think of anything she might have left out. Once she decided that she had said her piece, Renei shoved the folder back towards him and moved her attention down to her own set of paperwork. "Go away now, please."

Izaki merely shrugged in response, leaning further across her desk and grabbing a spare pencil so that he could start twirling it between his fingers; you would think she had just told him to get comfortable, rather than leave her alone. "I guess that just makes me a better person than you. Maybe you can redeem yourself by helping me out with looking over these documents?" Stilling the pencil, he tapped the end of it against the folder still covering up most of her workspace.

"I have no desire to help you with your work, Izaki." Really, the fact that he had bothered to ask such a thing of her only proved his lack of sense.

Finally, though she wasn't sure that it was actually a good thing, there was a frown on his face that replaced his teasing smile. "Fine then." He practically threw the pencil at her, and pulled away to turn on his heel. He appeared to be heading for the doors as if he were going to leave the room, and the folder still sat on Renei's desk, untouched. "You can handle them yourself. I'm gonna grab a bite to eat."

Renei stood from her desk in the next moment, refusing to let him get away with such a lazy and insolent attitude. "Get back here and do it yourself!" Came her insistent hiss.

Izaki half-turned near the door, his small frame shaking with a laugh, probably enjoying the fact that he had gotten her all riled up over such a little thing. "Nah," That maddening Cheshire grin was threatening to split his face in two. "I'm hungry! But hey, if you're willing to let me treat you to a meal, I'd be happy to do the work myself."

Her response was another glare.

So he started laughing harder, and louder, until it echoed down the hallway long after he had stepped out of the Student Council room.

xx

Tora decided to go to the last few classes he had for the day, since his activities with Sanyu had helped put him in something of a better mood. He felt refreshed, and a little more in control of everything around him. Perhaps all he had needed was to let off a little steam.

Renei, of course, was present as well and sitting at his side like usual. It felt as though it had been months since they had last sat next to each other in class, when in reality it had only been a little over a week that they had been playing the 'avoidance game' with each other, until the night he took her to dinner.

Or rather, she had been avoiding him then. Now, he had been the one to avoid her over the course of the past few days.

His mind was not focused at all on the lecture as he leaned back in his seat and allowed his eyes to fall to half-mast in relaxed thoughtfulness. He didn't have the energy anymore to fight against his thoughts about the other night, so he decided it was time to face them. And they crashed through him like giant waves as the flood gates were finally opened.

It was something else entirely, Renei's new tactical approach to their games. She was a woman of principle, with a selfless heart to boot. And yet, she had taunted, tempted, tricked, and tormented him all in one night. _One night_ , and that was all it took to completely derail him. Albeit, she had had a week of avoiding him to contemplate her revenge, but even in a week's time, for someone to be able to set their own values aside and do things his way, the underhanded way, was... As impressive as it was vexing, and intriguing.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but he'd rather not have his manipulative nature copied so easily by another person, and then be used against him. He already got enough of that from his parents. Or rather, he had been the one to copy both of _their_ manipulative natures, but that is besides the point.

Was this where the term 'getting a taste of your own medicine' came from?

Of course, Tora had known from day one that Renei was a gifted actress, though he had never known the full extent of her acting skills, as in, how far she was willing to go with them. So, those stunts she pulled with how she flirted with the waiter and how she pretended to be in pain, just to gauge his reaction? He had no way of preparing himself for any of it. It had all been so... _Igarashi_ of her.

Definitely a taste of his own medicine.

Which is why it was both infuriating and attractive to him at the same time. He had always thought that no one but himself could ever pose a challenge to himself, and now, he had someone acting like him just enough to pose that challenge.

Very intriguing indeed. She almost made him feel foolish, as Sanyu had so frankly put it, since he hadn't seen this coming nor had he been able to see through her lies and hide his morality from her.

Tora had never really thought himself to have morals, but he supposed everyone _did_ have them, in varying degrees. He didn't know the full extent of his, for the most part choosing to ignore them, but they were still there... existing... somewhere.

Oh, how his parents would mock him if they ever found out that his dear fiancée, the so-called 'perfect daughter-in-law', had gotten the better of him. He could only imagine how they would reward her for it. Had it always been their plan, to have Renei keep him in check and get under his skin? He didn't think they knew anything of her but her charming, lady-like façade, but then again, they could have helped her conspire against him in some way. He wouldn't put it past them.

But he would put it past Renei. She had too much pride and too much heart to drag other people into her problems. The only exception was her small group of friends, who she hadn't even willingly become friends with. In fact, if it wasn't for how pushy that ragtag band of annoyances were, she probably wouldn't have ended up interacting with anyone at Miyabigaoka save for him, and maybe the Elite and the members of the Student Council. Something he would have preferred, since Tora had a sneaking suspicion that it was her friends who had helped her come up with her plan of action for their dinner date; although Yoshikawa would have certainly been against the whole flirting aspect of it. That boy did have such an _obvious_ crush on Renei.

Sparing a glance at the young woman in question, Tora regarded her with a quick sweep of his gaze. She seemed to be lost in deep thought too―one of her elbows was propped up on the table and she was resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Her eyes were glazed over as they stared off into space, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed in a way that she probably wasn't conscious of. Her chocolate flow of hair, looking silky and shiny underneath the fluorescent lights, had fallen over one of her shoulders, most of it kept out of her face by the band that held it back in her signature ponytail.

Her brow line scrunched even further with a frown, right before she bit her lip and peeked over at him suddenly; and though Tora was sure the action wasn't meant to be coquettish, it still caused him to give a near-imperceptible flinch and look away with a locked jaw and gritted teeth.

Damn it, this was the very girl who had annoyed him endlessly five years ago. The very woman who had caused him to burry himself in his work for the past three days. Yet, his initial assessment of her when he looked at her just now was that she was rather lovely today, even without the make-up and the clothing she had worn for their dinner the other night.

This irked him, for some reason, almost more than anything she had done at the restaurant. This uncanny ability of hers to engage in every-day activities, or simply be doing nothing at all but sitting there thinking, yet gain a sort of complementary attention from him—an Igarashi—nonetheless. The simple ability to be nice to look at, without the help of make-up and accessories.

And especially, the ability he was all too familiar with—to have an outward appearance of understated elegance coexist neatly with an inner world of secrets and lies.

When Tora first looked at her today after these past few days of avoiding her, he should have felt more angry, he should have said something clever and taunting, in a low voice with a smirk on his face while he wished her ill-will with his eyes.

Instead, all he did was stare at her in silent contemplation. And what he saw when he looked at her was a beautiful woman, well-suited to his tastes, and dreadfully similar to himself.

He would honestly rather drive off a cliff into shark-invested waters than agree with his parents, but, he was starting to come to terms with their reasoning for picking Renei to be his fiancée.

It wasn't that he liked Renei, by all means, no. It was more accurate to say that he hated her, though that wasn't quite it either. And he wasn't exactly neutral towards her, otherwise she wouldn't effect him so much. At this point, it was safe to say that he enjoyed her company the most, out of anyone else right now. No matter how difficult she proved to be, that was the truth. He despised her a bit, but he put up with her more frustrating actions because they proved to be rather interesting. Similarly, that little bit of 'interesting' is what had made him entertain a relationship with Misaki as well.

Both young women held a strange sort of intrigue in their characters, possessing some things most other girls lacked―a rare inner strength that was admirable, and a certain, raw beauty as well. They were intriguing because of their secrets they tried so hard to protect; and what was even more curious was the fact that, if given the choice, both Ayuzawa and Nakajima would give up all of their secrets, no matter how unmentionable they may be, in order to protect something or someone important to them.

For Misaki, it was that damn Usui.

For Renei, it was...

Now that raised a burning question. Who _was_ Renei so determined to protect? So determined that she would willingly enter into an arranged marriage with him, no matter what trials and hardships he put her through? He wanted to know. More than ever before, Tora wanted to know the person who was just _that_ important to her. The person she endured all of his taunting, mockery, and games for.

Gods, but that was annoying, wasn't it? He couldn't help but sneer at the thought. It was the same reaction he gave when he realized how much Misaki cared for Usui. Call it bitterness, because it kind of was. After all, he had grown up with people wanting to form nothing more than shallow relationships with him. That being said, Tora could only imagine what it might feel like, to be so treasured by someone else that that someone would readily give up everything for you.

Must be... Interesting.

Perhaps all of this was why he wasn't completely infuriated with Renei, after what she had done to him. As he had told her before, he _did_ like the attention. The amount of work she was putting into her relationship with him was pleasing to see. What's more, it was certainly more than Ayuzawa had ever given him. And of course, it went without saying that the attentions Misaki provided Usui were nothing like the attentions Renei provided himself, but it was attention nonetheless. She thought about him, conversed with him, argued with him. Still, no, it wasn't the same as Misaki and Usui.

But did he want it to be? To have a deep, underlying affection mixed into all of that arguing... What would that even be like?

 _...Strange._ Was the immediate thought that came to mind.

Subtly, Tora tossed another glance in Renei's direction. She had gone back to her original position of staring off into space, looking pensive, and he found himself thinking that he would like to bite her lower lip as she puckered it like that.

"Igarashi, can I ask you something?" The sudden sound of her voice was quiet, but firm in its intention. A pair of sharp, fathomless indigo eyes met his in the next split-second.

Those eyes, full of intelligence and poise and an innate mystique, would send any weaker man reeling; and suddenly, on an unrelated note, it made sense to Tora why this woman had such a great effect on Yoshikawa, who was normally flirtatious with many women but had singled out Renei the moment she had arrived at the school.

A surge of possessiveness caught him slightly off guard then, but he quickly squashed it back down.

"What is it?" Tora answered her in a soft, low and vaguely annoyed drawl, his mask set firmly into place over his features.

"I want to know," Her dark orbs were searching, pressing. "The reasoning behind you giving our historian files on a new student, when that job should have fallen to me, as secretary."

Tora's jaw locked up briefly. He would have to punish Izaki later for this. "It is my understanding that you were busy with other things," He explained in a voice smooth as silk now. "And Izaki had far less work on his hands." A blond eyebrow was arched elegantly. "Would you rather I work you into the ground?"

"It's just peculiar." Renei frowned, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her brain. Not what he wanted to see, but then, she seemed to be making it a habit of doing things that he didn't want. Of _defying_. "I figured you might have been attempting to hide something from me."

Tora scoffed, rolling his eyes at that suggestion as if it were unthinkable, when it was in fact, the truth. "Nakajima, you really should take a page out of everyone else's book and learn to have more faith in my abilities as President of the Student Council. Contrary to popular belief, I _did_ have to work to attain the position."

"So you really were just trying to lighten my work load?" She sounded lightly amused. "How very noble of you."

His gaze went blank for a millisecond, as he didn't know how to react to her teasing, but then his eyes narrowed. "I was evenly distributing the work load. Do not mistake it for me giving you some sort of special treatment compared to the others."

"I see..."

She didn't sound as though she believed anything he was saying. Tora kept a close eye on her, noticing the way the brunette was staring down at her desk now with her brow scrunched in deep thought once more. She certainly didn't _look_ as though she believed him, either, probably back to contemplating the one thing he'd rather her not. If he could keep her as far away from the whole Usui situation for as long as possible, that would be best.

"You're overthinking it." He suggested in a mild, dispassionate tone, as if that alone would dissuade her. Usually, people would listen to him easily enough, though he knew not to count on it with her.

When her eyes flickered back to his, they shone with what appeared to be... Well what do you know, it was _defiance_.

"Is that what it is?" Her voice was cool and light, like the beginnings of a snowfall. "You know, I would so hate to have you thinking that my head is filled with nothing but silly imaginings, so I suppose you wouldn't mind if I inquire further about the case of the new student?"

His eyes narrowed even further, before Tora abruptly managed an all-too-fake smile. "What do you intend to do?"

Renei merely shrugged, nothing more than that, and turned away from him. However, Tora didn't bother to relax since she proceeded to start whispering just out of his earshot with a certain blonde girl cuddled up with a teddy bear.

"Kaon-san."

Turning from her gossiping with someone else, Kaon settled a biting glare on Renei. "Do you need something, farmer's daughter?" She didn't seem too happy about the interruption.

"I just thought I might inform you," Leaning closer to the other girl, Renei kept her voice low. "In case it slipped everyone else's mind to let you know. We're having a new student who will be transferring to Miyabigaoka soon, from a place called Seika High―"

"Oh please." Kaon rolled her eyes before offering the other a smug look. "I already know all about that, genius. I was informed at the same time as everyone else. Seems like you're actually the one who's late getting the memo."

Acting surprised, Renei widened her eyes in a display of shock. "What? Wait, you couldn't possibly know more about it, since I was the one given the files―"

The blonde leaned closer to her with a smirk, now speaking in a conspiratorial whisper. "There's _no way_ you know more about it than I do. The President himself came to me and the rest of the Elite Group about it."

"Oh?" A dark eyebrow was cocked high. "Why on earth would he do a thing like that, leaving me out of the mix?"

"Probably because this is a case too sensitive for you to handle." Kaon's smirk widened, mockingly. "Takumi Usui isn't just an ordinary student, you know. He comes from a very, _very_ influential family, we've been informed. And he's apparently going to be Igarashi's 'special customer' once he starts attending Miyabigaoka. We, being the Elite, were told to be on our best behavior when that guy arrives, treating him as one of us and making sure that he's perfectly comfortable at all times."

"I had no idea about the importance of the matter."

"That's to be expected." Kaon was practically glowing with a sense of satisfaction over the fact that she had 1-uped the taller girl in some way. "Igarashi didn't inform you, because he doesn't trust you like he trusts the rest of us. After all, you haven't been around for as long as we have. Even if the two of you are engaged, we've had more time to get on his good side. And then there's the fact that you know nothing of this sort of thing, which is so common in our society, but certainly not common in whatever run-down society you crawled out of." Playing absent-mindedly with Edward's arms, the blonde girl released a heavy sigh. "You were raised by a good-for-nothing plantation owner, after all."

At the mention of her father, and hearing someone speak so ill of him, Renei tensed in her seat; her sharp eyes narrowed to tiny, frigid pricks. "At least my family and I are not sheep, like all of you." The scathing reply escaped her lips before she could bother with filtering it. She was especially sensitive about her family right now, since things weren't going so well back at home... She just couldn't help it.

Kaon went bug-eyed, her voice barely a breath of disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"I _said_ , you and the rest of the Elite, are _sheep_." Leaning back in her seat, the brunette folded her arms and tossed the other girl a maddening, sardonic smile that was eerily similar to Igarashi's famous high-and-mighty expression. Renei was really nailing the whole 'taking a page out of Igarashi's book' thing, even during times such as these where she wasn't fully aware of it. "Stuck living in the herd mentality, lacking the capacity for individual thought. A group without any imagination, who mindlessly follow and emulate their shepherd without question." Lowering her chin and quirking a corner of her mouth, she offered up a shrewd smirk. "In other words, a waste of flesh and brain cells."

"Excuse you?!" Kaon was raising her voice now, but Renei didn't so much as flinch, taking care to keep up her outer appearance of cold cleverness. "Who do you think you are, to talk to me like that?! _I'm_ better than _you!_ We _all_ are. You think you're so fantastic when you're really not, Nakajima, you have no idea the difference between you and everyone else at this school! We actually _belong_ here, we contribute everything that we possibly can to―"

"Contribute?" A cool eyebrow was raised, along with Renei giving a look of faintly amused interest. "Is that what you call your blackmailing and other schemes?"

Kaon huffed. "That's―oh never mind, I certainly wouldn't ever expect _you_ to understand. You didn't grow up in our world." She let out a hissing snicker meant to mock, drawing the rest of the student's attention who hadn't already been tuned into their conversation. "Life as a _farmer's daughter,_ " She reiterated. "Doesn't really prepare you for the big bad ways of the city, now does it? In fact, why don't you just go back to the country already? You're so pathetic."

"And you are disturbing." Came the immediate, blunt response, causing Kaon's eyes to go back to their previous bug-eyed state.

"Must you really belittle me so much," Renei went on in an insipid tone. "Just to feel better about yourself? Tell me, Umekoji, who does it sound like has more dignity out of us two? The city girl carrying around a plush child's toy everywhere she goes, blackmailing and insulting her fellow students into submission, or the country girl who managed to get on the Student Council within her first few weeks of schooling at one of the most prestigious schools in Japan?"

"Th-that's a ridiculous comparison, and you know it! You only got on the Student Council because Igarashi wanted you to, and we only accepted you for the very same reason! But if I had it my way, you'd be thrown out of this school without a second glance given your way because, let's face it, you really _don't deserve to be here_." The blonde ended her sentence by turning up her nose at the other in disgust. "But maybe you could stay as a servant. Give the other caretakers a hand at the stables, perhaps?" She snorted.

"At least," Renei started to retort, enunciating every word with sharp bite and clarity. "then, I would be contributing more to this school than you do."

Perhaps she had gone too far, perhaps she wasn't thinking before she spewed out words, and should have kept her mouth shut... Seeing as Kaon had turned such an intense shade of red at that, that it almost seemed unnatural and concerning.

Enraged all over again, the smaller woman stood from her seat and pointed an accusatory finger at the brunette. "You!" She seethed, looking all sorts of appalled and offended; completely lost in disbelief that someone who clearly understood so little about the inter-workings of Miyabigaoka and its Elite students, dared to talk to her in such a way. "You have no idea what you're talking about! You're such a good-for-nothing know-it-all, when all you _really_ are is just Igarashi's bit―"

"Umekoji Kaon! You will leave this classroom at once and go have a talk with the Headmaster about your misbehavior!"

Kaon sputtered until her words were gone, mouth opening and closely mutely. Her face screamed embarrassment, turning almost purple now, and _all_ eyes were on her since the teacher had called her out. Rather suddenly, both she and Renei were acutely aware that the last part of their conversation had probably been heard by half of the classroom. Kaon's shouting, especially, was probably heard by the _entire_ classroom, no matter how large it was.

"But," The purple-red tomato that seemed to have taken Kaon's place finally found its voice. "It was Nakajima's fault! We were arguing, both of us, and she started it, so shouldn't she get punishment as well at least?"

"Perhaps she would," The sensei adjusted his glasses with a glint. He seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much, getting students all worked up. Or maybe it was just Kaon he didn't like. Kaon was notorious for getting into little spats with other students, which resulted in getting her into trouble with teachers as well. And compared to that, Renei was more than a model student―she was a perfect angel among the school's faculty. "If she had been making such a scene, shouting for the entire class to hear. Besides, I'm sure she was just trying to remind you to be quiet. You _do_ have the tendency to talk during my lectures."

Kaon stomped her foot, nearly losing her grip on Edward in her outrage. "She said I didn't have dignity! She called me a shee―"

"Then prove that you do have some dignity, and listen to your superiors. Headmaster's office, Ms. Umekoji, _now_."

Clipping her mouth shut, Kaon glared daggers at Renei before marching down the steps, past the teacher, and to the door.

With a dark expression that spelled out murder, she threw the door open and flounced out―vowing to herself that, one way or another, she would return this special little disfavor back to Renei Nakajima in full.

xx

The hallways were relatively quiet as the young couple strolled along after class, though neither of them were oblivious to the jealous looks that both girls and boys were shooting their way as they walked past. It was no secret that many women adored Tora, and likewise, there was a similar amount of men who fancied Renei just as much. However, the difference was that Tora welcomed the attention whereas his lovely counterpart came across as far more unapproachable.

And when placed together as a 'couple' of their own, the two of them made quite the attractive pair to be envious of. Not that either of them liked to acknowledge it. They normally wouldn't be walking next to each other like this, but there was a particular topic which Renei had been refusing to drop ever since class let out.

"On my first day here," Her voice was business-like in its manner as she spoke, and since her height was somewhere near Tora's, her long legs easily kept up with his pace; to his displeasure. "You told me that I was to be considered one of the Elite as well. Or am I mistaken?"

Tora stared straight ahead and responded in a bored fashion, "I do recall saying that."

She glanced his way, took note of the tightness of his jaw, and pressed on with her interrogation anyway. "If that is the case, then why were the rest of the Elite informed of the new student and how to behave around him, and I wasn't?"

"I fail to see why this is upsetting to you. He won't be with us for another week, and I was merely giving everyone advance notice on what is to be expected when he arrives."

"But you avoided telling me for a reason, I'm sure." This time when Renei spoke, her response was clipped and annoyed.

Abruptly, the tall young man pulled to a stop and turned his head to her with a lazy, hooded gaze. "You were avoiding me before, is it a considered a crime that I would do the same?"

"Well, not really, I suppose―"

"Then I fail to see what the problem is." He started walking again, in the same quick pace as before.

Renei let out an impatient chuff of air before moving to keep up. "Even when we avoid each other on a personal level, we still _work_ together for the Student Council's sake." She was glaring at him now, eyes narrowed in strong disapproval. "We both have our jobs to do, and it isn't like you to neglect such duties. The fact is, Igarashi, you should always keep me well-informed, especially with matters as supposedly important as this."

Tora was a beat slower with his next response. "...It is not even certain that the transfer will work out. Usui has yet to accept our invitation."

"What on earth? That doesn't even make sense!" Her calm demeanor turned briefly into a flash of crystal-clear exasperation. "How can you be prepping everyone for his arrival when he hasn't given you a clear answer on whether or not he will be switching schools? Are you really so presumptuous?"

"He will, and yes, I am."

Renei's exasperation abruptly made way for the suspicion that had been underlying it all from the start. "You know, the fact that you are so certain makes me believe that you did something to sway him in some way... And why you would be so determined for him to attend this school is admittedly odd, don't you think? Kaon mentioned something about him being your 'special customer'..." She paused to let him step in and say something, but he acted as though he hadn't heard her. Naturally, Renei kept on regardless. "Just how important is this young man? And why does he have a second last name, a foreign name, I believe the file said Walker? Also, why would a rich, foreign young man attend a standard school like Seika High? Why wasn't he here from the start? And why change schools now, specif―"

Tora suddenly rounded on her, getting right up into her personal space with the flicker of a sneer marring his striking features. "If it's a game of questions we're playing, then I have one for you." He stepped closer, close enough to make her uncomfortable, although she didn't move away. "Is this really what we're doing?" He asked in a low, harsh tone, gesturing between the two of them with the flick of his hand. "We're just going to carry on with business as usual, bickering back and forth about this and that, as though nothing _un_ usual happened the other night?"

It came out of nowhere then, hitting Renei in a fluid rush of memories―the feel of the pouring rain, and the screaming silence between them before he got into his car and left her questioning everything. Renei withheld a shiver. Oh so _now_ he was going to bring it up? Most likely as a means of distracting her from their previous topic. "Well, do you want to talk about it?"

He blinked at her, a flicker of surprise flashing across his face. "Don't you want to?"

She blinked back, wearing a deadpan expression. "I don't care about that right now. I'd rather you tell me what the deal is with this new student you're apparently so fond of." Then, as an afterthought, she tilted her head to one side and asked curiously, "Wait, _do_ you want to talk about it?"

"No,"

"Then why can't we just talk about the transfer stu―"

"You didn't allow me to finish, Renei." The way he said her first name so pointedly made her instinctively, though she hadn't meant to do so, take a step back. Tora followed, getting just as close as before; closer, even. And all of a sudden, Renei was overly conscious of the fact that people were now starting to stare at her, stopped in the middle of the hallway, with Igarashi leaning so far into her personal space that it seemed almost, but not quite, inappropriate. "I don't want to talk. I prefer to take action."

Next thing she knew, he had grabbed her by the hand. In the middle of the hallway. With everyone looking at them. Students, teachers, lots of people, but it didn't seem to matter to Tora as he waved them off with a smile that charmed them thoroughly. He then proceeded to drag her―no matter how much she resisted quietly and politely, trying to appear as decent as Tora did so as not to cause a ruckus―further up the hall before he swept around a corner and shut them in a vacant room.

Surprisingly, it was the music room; complete with a stage set up with a wide arrangement of every instrument imaginable and an especially beautiful grouping of grand pianos and string instruments that caught Renei's eye. She didn't have the time to appreciate any of it, however, because a tall and menacing blond was pushing her into a wall and holding her chin so that he could lock her gaze with his.

"About the other night," He smirked, leaning in close enough to make her lip curl in discomfort. "I believe you are..." His finger brushed across her curled lip in a touch barely perceptible, yet it left behind a strange tingling she desperately fought against. "Indebted to me."

"I do not owe you so much as a single thing, Igarashi." Renei balked at him as if he'd spoken the words in Latin. "Get your head on straight, and do _stop_ ―" She grabbed his hand in an insistent, vice-like grip, her dark eyes flashing and her voice dropping an octave. "―manhandling me, would you?"

He pulled his hand from hers with the casual, unaffected air of someone who hadn't a care in the world. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You owe me for dinner, for getting you out of that spot of trouble with the waiter,"

"I literally threw him to the floor," Her eyes continued to get darker as the frustration with him started to get the better of her. "Without your help actually, in case you've forgotten."

"And especially," Tora carried on as if she hadn't spoken, knowing full well how much it made her tick. "For the play of deception you put on that night." He paused for a reaction, but Renei merely pressed her lips into a thin line and looked away, which he took as his cue to press on. "Fortunately, I am in a generous mood at the moment, so my only request of you is the answer to a single, burning question." With her head turned away from him, he leant down and whispered against her ear, "Who is the person you are so desperate to protect?"

Her eyes widened and appeared to be momentarily filled with panic, from what he could tell. It would have made Tora laugh out of sheer delight at throwing her off like that, if he wasn't so serious about getting his answer. "What? Why would you― that's not―" It was so unexpected, and she didn't have the time to check her words. "Are you joking?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "I rarely, if ever, joke about things."

"Igarashi," She gave him a look hardened like steel. Her walls had gone up out of nowhere, and fast, too. So fast he almost felt surprised. "We've already had this conversation and I told you―"

He cut her off. "You really expected me to take the whole 'I am just protecting myself' excuse as an answer?" When she became mute all over again, he rolled his eyes and tossed her a half-hearted, dull sort of glare. "I'm waiting, Nakajima."

Renei did her best to stay silent, her mouth pressed tightly shut and her eyes now completely refusing to meet his gaze. Aggravated, Tora moved his hand back to her chin, hooking a thumb under it and giving it a sharp tug toward him, causing her eyes to flicker back to him briefly before she huffed and glanced to the side again, muttering under her breath.

"I have nothing more to say on the matter."

"You had better give me a proper answer." He regarded her with a hooded gaze, though she seemed to miss it. "Believe me when I say it is in your best interest to cooperate." Once more, his forefinger traced her lower lip in a light touch, triggering another assault of unwelcome tingles that she tried to shake off.

Renei side-stepped down the wall and swept past him quickly, stopping in an open space of the room with a scowl pinching her lovely features. "I refuse. Let the consequences be damned because, when it comes to this matter, I will not budge on my stance."

"Woman, you _never_ budge on your stance." There was a hint of momentary dryness to Tora's voice, and then it was replaced by something low and dangerous. "Just tell me who it is, otherwise..."

"I said no and I mean it, so quit asking about it." Those deep, blue-purple eyes stared deeply into his now, facing him with total confidence, unwavering determination. Clearly, she would protect those she cared about as if her own life depended on it. And Igarashi, for the life of him, would never understand how a single person could be so simultaneously irritating and riveting.

"If you don't tell me," He leered, feeling particularly hungry for more than just answers to his questions all of a sudden. "Then I will have to request something else." A suggestive smile lit up his sharp, angular features, in all the wrong ways. "I'll admit, I have many... ideas I'd like to entertain."

Renei, quickly checking her temper, took a deep breath. Once she had let it out, she spoke in a voice as smooth and refined as watered silk. "Fine then President, go ahead and try entertaining yourself with me against my will and see where that gets you." A bitter-sweet flicker of a smile graced the corner of her lips, and to hell with it but, Tora thought she made being 'stubborn as a mule' look damn well attractive. Especially with her head held high like that and her eyes dancing in defiance.

"You do know," He gave her a look that spelled out the darkest of his intentions. "That I'm threatening you." Whether it was more a question or a statement was hard to say.

"You do realize," She copied his tone, her gaze one of fervid tenacity as that smile played around her lips. "That I'm doing the very same."

Tora's sudden smirk was all sharp white teeth.

In the next instant, he was there at her side― startling Renei into backing up against a set of cellos just to her left, tripping over one and reaching out quickly to catch the instrument before it fell into the others. Too late did she notice that Tora had anticipated this, having closed the distance between them in two short steps and pushed her back in that direction so that she would be too distracted in worrying about the instruments to properly defend herself from his advances.

He had her up against the back edge of a piano shortly after that, catching her arms in his grip just before she realized she should raise them to fend him off. "While I do find your willfulness endearing at times, there is a point where I'd much prefer you complaisant in my arms."

She glowered at him. "You are something else, Igarashi. Truly. Why would I ever want to be in _your_ arms?"

The look on his face was something sinister as he leaned in with a hot breath against her ear, "Then, whose arms do you prefer instead, I wonder?"

Renei's jaw dropped at the implied accusation. "I am not like that!" Her tone was slightly shrill as she fought against him and, with some effort, successfully delivered a hard kick to his leg before he was further able to subdue her. It didn't make her feel any better, though, so she ranted. "Unlike you, I would never seek someone else out despite already being engaged to another, much less corner a person like this and force myself on th―"

"But you _have_ sought another out, seducing him right before my eyes just to spite me. You are," Tora didn't so much as wince as she did her best to resist him, merely tightening his hold on her and switching positions, leaning in with that all-encompassing, all-powerful and intimidating air only an Igarashi could possess. "More like me than you wish to admit." His breath was ghosting freely across her open skin, creating goosebumps and making an involuntary, mostly infuriated blush color her cheeks.

When Renei looked away in that reasonable sense of guilt she possessed, attempting to hide from bright golden eyes that seemed to be branding her with their intensity, it gave Tora the momentary break in her resistance that he needed to reach up with one hand and start undoing her tie. Noticing this act immediately, the brunette turned back to him and, with loads more effort than before (considering he had her thoroughly pinned back now), kicked him in the same spot even harder than the first time. And she felt satisfied in the thought that it would definitely leave a bruise now, at the very least.

"It's remarkable how violent you can be when you put your mind to it." Came his amused chuckle, and Renei had a riposte to that remark just sitting on her tongue; though she quickly changed it to something else as he continued to mess with her tie.

"And just what the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Igarashi?"

All signs of amusement left him in a flash as he was briefly taken aback by the amount of icy venom packed into her voice out of nowhere, plus the fact that she had sworn at him. Quickly after that he had to grab her free hand again so that she couldn't slap or shove him away, as she was just about to do. Both her arms were then pinned between their bodies by one of his hands, his other going back to its task of untying the top half of her uniform.

"Whatever the hell I want, of course." Came his cocky and dryly-worded response, effectively making Renei stomp her foot, though he dodged swiftly before her heel landed on his toes.

"So help me god," There wasn't so much nervousness in her voice, as there was full-fledged anger. "If you don't cut this crap out right now then I will―"

"You'll what?" He looked up at her then, mouth quirked when he saw her red-faced and flustered, wriggling in his firm hold, baring her teeth like a wild little animal. "Kick me again? Tell my parents on me? What is it, Nakajima, that I should be so afraid of when it comes to your threats?"

She bit her lip, and frowned. He did have a point. "I know judo."

His response was a quick rush of air escaping his lips, hardly even a laugh.

She bit down on her lip harder, flushing all the more. "Fine, I'm _learning_ judo, but that doesn't mean I'm not any good at it! And I'm giving you a fair warning now, if you don't stop this instant then I will―"

"I don't doubt your skills." He finally did away with her tie and threw it to the floor. Then his eyes met hers, stuck somewhere between trying to be serious and being all too entertained. "I just know that mine are better. Otherwise you would have gotten out of this by now, wouldn't you? Perhaps you should remind yourself who is it that has who pinned against a piano at the moment."

Renei's lip was practically bleeding at this point as her teeth worried it more harshly the more her nervousness, and frustration, grew. "Igarashi..." She ground out slowly. "You won't actually do anything to me, I know you won't." After all, she thought to herself, he _did_ have standards.

"You're right. I won't." As she blinked and sagged in relief, Tora's fingers moved over a bit to begin fiddling with the buttons near her dress collar. " _If_ you tell me who your special someone is that you see it so fit to protect. Is it another man after all, that you've been hiding from me?" His eyes met hers with a certain glint as she tensed up again.

She set her gaze on him firmly, offering a look that clearly showed how far past being patient with his antics she was. "No. Now haven't you had enough of your fun yet? You know, school is kind of an important thing we need to get back to―"

"I don't care either way," Tora mused aloud, starting to deftly, with only the use of one hand, pull her short uniform jacket off of her shoulders, bit by bit. Somehow, he had already unbuttoned it. "Whether it's a man or a woman, whether you're cheating on me or not,"

"I'm _not_."

"All I want to know," He kept on, maneuvering her wrists into his other hand so that he could pull off the other side of her jacket. It fell away to the floor with a barely audible breath of fabric. "Is the name of the person you're willing to walk through a life of hell on earth for."

"Surely you know," Renei was staring at him more warily now, considering his intentions to undress her and how serious his weird, random interest in the persons she cared most about seemed to be. In fact, she was starting to don a look that read something like, 'I really think this guy is insane'. "I am not daft enough to tell you that. You're just looking to exploit my weaknesses." When she suddenly tried to tuck a leg behind his and reverse their positions, possibly trip him up or escape, Tora avoided the amateur move easily and placed a knee firmly between her legs, pressing their bodies chest-to-chest. He had an arm wrapped tightly around her waist now as well, and a free hand rose up to caress just under her jaw, around her ear, mockingly-gentle.

"Are you really going to fight back?" He sounded very much near boredom now, having grown tired of her antics as well. Yet, part of him was marveling at the softness of her skin beneath his touch, the perfect curvature of her body pressed flush against his. He really couldn't tell whether he liked or disliked her, it was all so blurred together at this point. But she was... scintillating. "If you are so uncomfortable like this, just give me what I want and I'll release you." Maybe. There was a definite, unspoken maybe on the end of that sentence.

"For the last time, my answer is no. That information is too personal to give out." Her tone lowered, eyes sharpening to that glare of hers he'd become so familiar with. "Especially... to you."

Tora wasn't newly incensed by this at all, merely smirking at her as if this were nothing but a bit of fun to him. "Then don't bother with resisting. This is your punishment for the other night. You've been expecting it, haven't you?" With no further ado, his hand left her jaw and reached behind her back, grabbing at the zipper on her dress. She froze up instantly, stunned by his boldness. Moments away from pulling the zipper down, he leaned into her ear with a silky, dark whisper, "Just accept it."


	21. Deep Waters

A/N: How'd you like that cliffhanger in the last chapter? Heheh~ ^m^

I know I do tease you, but truly, I love my readers XD (Seriously, you guys are the BEST)

As you know from my last note, I'm not responding to reviews in the author's notes anymore, because frankly they take up way too much space and kind of distract from the story. It just sucks that my most favorite reviews are sent in by anonymous people, because I would love to respond to everyone in personal messages, but I can't if they don't have accounts :'( In short, I will just say a few things in order to acknowledge the amazing, uplifting, and helpful reviews I have most recently received.

Thank you 1,000,000 times over for expressing how much you adore this fanfic. It makes my heart do a little happy dance every time I read over all the positive feedback, you guys are so sweet, so thoughtful and I adore each and every one of you, and appreciate your reviews so much! xoxo *heart*

Yes there will be romance but it has a slow burn. Tora isn't exactly the romantic type, but then, maybe I shouldn't have labeled this story as a romance in the first place then? I don't know, it _is_ a love story revolving around a couple, so... *shrugs and laughs awkwardly*

Yes the story is moving a bit slow I suppose, and perhaps the constant back and forth between Tora and Renei is getting a bit old... I will take this into account as I write the next few chapters :)

I wholeheartedly agree that I should make things more concise. That was such a wonderful constructive criticism, and even though I already know that overcomplicating things is my one true flaw as a writer, it's still nice to get the feedback that I need so that I can re-remind myself that I really do need to work on simplifying things more, instead of vomiting words all over the page! Lololol

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

Deep Waters (slowly drowning in deeper)

...

"Just accept it?" Renei recited back the last words she heard with a very real sense of shock washing over her.

Now, she knew Tora was fully capable of being all types of spiteful and vindictive if he didn't get his way, but going so far as to strip her of her clothes in an attempt to frighten the information out of her was... a new kind of low. What was he trying to be now; a spoiled, overgrown child? She had thought he had more class than that, more respect for both himself and perhaps her as well. There were limits, after all, to how far you could push someone without actually causing some form of real damage, psychological or otherwise.

 _There were limits_ , she inwardly insisted over again, as he rather suddenly had her dress half unzipped and his damnably adroit fingers were pressing lightly across the skin of her back, close to the clasp of her bra. And if he couldn't have enough respect for them, then she certainly wouldn't bother to either.

It was time for not only a distraction, but something that would rattle him in the same way he had rattled her. "You know, I'm rather curious." Renei's voice was simultaneously sharper than it should have been, yet calm as it had ever been. "Is this the sort of thing that you did to _Misaki_ after she refused your offer to join Miyabigaoka? Did _she_ 'just accept it'?"

This close to him, she could feel the exact moment Tora's muscles tensed up, making the arm he kept around her waist hold her much more rigidly than before. "Where did you hear about that?"

The gravel in his voice was palpable.

"Oh, you didn't know the gossip mongers started passing that story around again once I became secretary?" Although they weren't quite looking at each other, she cocked an eyebrow anyway. "I was under the impression you knew everything that went on around here. Twice you try bringing random girls onto the esteemed Student Council at Miyabigaoka, and you can't possibly tell me that both times you expected people to keep their noses out of it?"

"She was just some commoner who worked at a maid café, you saw the picture." Tora droned dismissively, his body already unwinding back to a more calm state. Deftly, he slid one finger under the strap of her bra in an effort to bring her attention back to the matter at hand. "I couldn't have brought her here even if I tried, let alone offered her a position with us."

"And yet we both know you to be fully capable of having things your way, no matter how complicated the circumstances involved may be. All you would need to do is pull a few strings." Renei silently thanked every god imaginable when there was another pause in the blond's movements, his eyes seeking hers out in the half-lit room. They had failed to turn on the lights when they walked in, and the afternoon sunlight spilling in through the single large bay window didn't quite reach them in their corner between the string section and grand pianos.

"And why would I need to pull strings for a simple commoner?" He offered her a lazy smirk. "She was nothing more than a maid, just interesting enough for me to look into for a short period of time."

"Really? I seem to recall you saying that you 'didn't just know her'." Renei had the memory cataloged in her brain, word for word. And she certainly wasn't oblivious. "She was different, wasn't she? Special."

"I have no idea," It was sudden when he pulled away from her, with an unusually soft voice and eyes filled with a quiet, firm warning. "What you are talking about."

"Tell me, Igarashi." Her whisper was somehow loud in the small space he'd put between them. She noticed that his touch was still there, on her, possessive as ever but looser than it had been, as if he didn't really want to be there but had no choice other than to follow through with what he'd started―unless he wanted to appear 'weak' again for letting her go. "Is this the very same position you had her in, before her boyfriend found the two of you together?" She raised one eyebrow in another delicate, questioning arch, which this time he saw. "Did you put up a fight when he showed up, or let her leave with him?"

"It seems as though being in such close proximity to me," The hand of his that still rested behind her brushed down the dip of her back in a distracting whisper of touch, as the other tightened its hold on her hip. But his eyes... His eyes were emotionless, not showing so much as a glimmer of the teasing they once held. "Has actually made you stupid."

"What's the matter, Igarashi?" She made no effort to remove his hands, firmly believing that he would be removing them on his own soon enough. "Does it bother you that I didn't forget about your 'object of great interest'? I may have pushed it to the back of my mind, but I never let it go. After all, she was the first woman, out of the countless women I'm sure you've come across, who truly held your attention." Renei tilted her head to one side, eyes narrowed in that ever-so-condescending, know-it-all look she had patented. "That's something."

"Is making something out of nothing a new hobby of yours?" Quicker than a flash, his expression changed; the curve of his mouth becoming teasing, taunting playfulness once again. "Or are you just dying to know of my past with other women?"

The way he ran so hot and cold, so mocking then not, then mocking again, was always _so_ irritating that Renei fought to suppress an eye roll. "She was never yours to take, was she?"

His hands twitched before they disappeared from her body entirely. "I don't―" He started, only a tad bit defensively.

"But you knew that." She was swift to interrupt. "Even so, you just couldn't give up once you'd started to play. Or maybe," Violet eyes were alight in a curious, considering manner with her next words. Admittedly, as much as this topic discomfited her, it managed to intrigue her just as much. "It was more than that to you. More than a game."

"It wasn't―" The emotion shaking his voice must have managed to surprise even him, because he stopped himself short. Something was flickering there behind burning gold depths, before it was gone in the next instant. And then his voice was nothing but a drawl; lazy, smooth. Practiced. And he smiled in the same lazy, smooth, and practiced manner. "I never took you for the type to believe in rumors, Nakajima. How two-dimensional of you."

" _Two-dimensional?_ " How could he play at that? How could he call her that, and act like that, when she was nothing if not full of depth, and he was actually feeling the opposite of such calm composure? He did it all, she knew, because he didn't want the truth to come out, especially not to her. And that, _that_ is what really, truly made her angrier than she had ever felt before.

Because didn't she deserve his truth more than anyone else ever could?

"Normally, I'm sure you are the one to be labeled that," Renei had every intention of making him understand how well she knew him, how pointless it was for him to go on trying to deceive her. "But there is more to you than what meets the eye, isn't there? After all, there is the little known fact that you keep pictures of that girl tucked away for safe-keeping. I bet you even keep tabs on her, too. Now why would you do a thing like that, unless of course, you had feelings for―"

He slammed her back into the piano again.

"Why are you doing this?" There was no pause between the movement and the words, his chest rising and falling against hers as a breath escaped him in a frustrated rush while hers got caught in her throat. His eyes were dark, she noticed―darker than she'd ever seen them get.

"We..." She cleared her throat to get rid of the gravel that had suddenly become lodged in it. "We've both gotten very good at crossing lines recently, haven't we?" Her hands, though they had the slightest of tremors running through them, raised to clasp around each of his wrists. He was grasping her by the loose fabric of her dress, and for some reason, the action frightened her. Perhaps it was the way his hands also shook, with a carefully concealed rage that he had hidden so well from her up until now. "Why did you start to undress me?"

"I intend to finish."

Renei pretended not to notice the roughness of his voice, the heat of his body as it molded perfectly against her own. The fact that she could see just how long his eyelashes were this close up, and feel the rapid pulse of his heartbeat beneath the skin of his inner wrists.

"I suggest you don't." She wondered if he even heard that. Her voice was lost, a mere whisper overwrought with nervous confusion and surprise―because he was handsome, she realized, devastatingly so―as much as he was frightening.

But of course he heard it. And Tora stared at her, really stared at her hard, for several minutes. It was so intense that it almost made him look crazy, somehow, though he never did quite look that, because he was always entirely unruffled and the purest definition of genteel. But he wasn't speaking or moving anymore, he couldn't quite seem to fathom what to say, what to do with her. They had both unexpectedly become lost at the same instant, in the same moment, and were both blaming the other for it.

"That person I'm willing to walk through a life of hell on earth for," This time, when Renei spoke, her voice was softer in a gentle type of way that took him aback. "She is yours, isn't she?"

His reaction was a slight widening of the eyes, for less than half a second. Less than half a second for her to see that he had wanted something, really wanted something, for once, and it had been taken from him, and yes, it did bother him. Then, as usual with him, it all went blank, hiding from her view as he collected it behind a mask of composure. He tried to take a step back, but she held him there firmly, eyes insistent as they roamed every surface of his face, hoping to catch more glimpses of truth that were swallowed up into the depths of him that no one knew existed. Her question still stood, and it was not one he could run away from. She wouldn't let him this time.

"Tell me."

"No. She isn't."

There was a strict finality to his tone, and something now more pointed about the blank stare he gave her, Renei noticed, that showed just how much he was affected by this conversation, and just how much he didn't want to let her see it. "But she might have been. If only you weren't the type of person who doesn't know they have feelings for someone, until it's already too late to do anything about it."

"I don't ever." The nonchalance with which he spoke had a chilling presence to it, and his eyes were shuttered from her view. "Have feelings for anyone."

"On the contrary, Tora." He looked up quickly in surprise when he heard his name, his first name, spoken by her without the use of honorifics; and she had no idea such a thing had the power to startle him. "I think the feelings are what make you push people away."

After a brief pause, Renei knew a moment of panic when his hands slowly started to close over hers. The grip she'd had on his wrists had easily been rendered useless, and for some reason, she didn't think to stop him as his long fingers folded neatly over her own, which took to awkwardly curling inward, bowing beneath his touch. Such a simple move on his part, and suddenly, she felt that every part of herself was on fire―or perhaps it was just a blush catching her unawares. She did feel rather flustered, in fact, uncomfortably so. And she definitely had no idea how to react, or if he expected her to react, so she reserved herself to noticing small details that weren't necessarily important but jumped out at her nonetheless.

His hands were larger than hers, and far less delicate. More like the opposite of delicate. They were strong, powerful, capable-looking hands, yet they held a refined taste all the same with neatly trimmed nails and well-kempt cuticles. And while hers looked like the type that were made to dance and play across piano keys, his looked like the type that had the skillfulness and strength to build an entire empire from the ground up and tear it down just as easily; whichever he was more in the mood for. And they offered a warmth that could have been comforting if it were coming from anyone else but him―yet to contradict that, it felt vaguely comforting all the same, to Renei. He made no move to pull her closer, simply held her there without explanation. And the oddest part was, it didn't seem as though he intended the action to be rough, cruel or mocking. Instead it was... careful. Light as a feather, his grasp almost wasn't there at all, yet it held her firmly and captured her attention.

It was when her brow furrowed and her frazzled eyes met his that he began to lean in, until his hair covered his eyes and his nose just brushed against hers and their lips were almost perfectly aligned and... and Renei could have sworn she stopped breathing, stopped thinking, stopped everything.

For an undetermined amount of time, the world felt perfectly still. He wasn't pushing her away. For once, he was bringing them closer together, and closer, and closer... Until she didn't dare ask him what he was doing, for fear of accidentally putting her lips into contact with his, since they were now only a hairsbreadth apart.

"Fix your clothes," Renei's eyes shot open (she hadn't even realized she'd had them shut) and Tora's breath could be felt just passing over the curve of her cheek. It was altogether relieving, yet frustrating in ways that bewildered her. "Before I take them off of you completely."

Maybe the close proximity to him really had made her stupid, she considered, because it took her several seconds to learn to breathe again, and several more seconds to formulate the right response.

"Okay."

One word from her, and he removed his hands from hers and stepped away. Clumsily, which was so very unlike Renei, she reached around to the back of her dress and pulled the zipper up to just below her nape. And it felt as if she had just put on a life jacket in the middle of an endless expanse of the deep blue sea, where she could have easily drowned without one. But now she was safe, or at least, a little bit safer than before.

After all, she was just beyond drowning now, but still stuck in the middle of something way too deep.

Looking up from collecting her jacket and tie from the floor, Renei realized that Tora had walked away. She watched wordlessly at first, as he neared the door at a swift pace that was unlike his usual long, leisurely strides.

"Wait."

He stopped, his back to her, the line of his shoulders seeming more broad and definitely more stiff and uncomfortable than she remembered. "Yes?"

Renei winced. There was something to his voice... something to his voice that, for once, made her not want to pick it apart and try to understand it. Not that she thought she would ever truly understand him, but, she did more than most.

Which is how she knew that she shouldn't bring up what happened in this room, ever again. Or rather, what almost happened in this room.

So she switched back to their original topic. "About Takumi Usui. Who is he to you, really?"

"You should take more care to tread lightly, Renei." His voice held a mockingly concerned cadence to it, matching the pearly white, saccharine smile he sent over his shoulder to unnerve her―and Renei felt her cheeks bloom with color, infuriated that he could be intimate one moment and the complete opposite of that in the next, and _still_ be so handsome that it made her wish he were better than what he was. "Especially when it comes to topics that you know nothing about. After all, I don't need you getting anyone else important to me into trouble, like you did with Kaon."

"What? First of all, why would you even care about―"

"You think I keep her close to me for the fun of hearing her whine all of the time? The Umekojis are looking to build a kindergarten and elementary school here in the academy. Kaon and her brother, along with the rest of the Elite, contribute far more than you think." Yellow orbs pinned her with a narrow, pointed look. "So I suggest you apologize to them for saying otherwise."

Renei felt her pride take a hard hit when she heard that, and had the decency to feel a little ashamed of herself. But she really had thought Kaon contributed nothing to the school except her negative personality. Though, she should have supposed that Tora would keep such an annoying person around him for a reason. "I didn't know―"

"No, you didn't." Tora's tone was sharp and snide. "You still don't. You never have." He turned back to the door, and now it was not only his shoulders, but the line of his back that seemed harder than she remembered. All of him was harsh, his words especially.

It made her wonder... Had he honestly, not but a moment prior to this, intended to kiss her, to let her in, to hold her gently like he did with their hands; and more importantly, did she want him to?

"No matter how much time passes, you'll always just be a silly little girl, with too much hope and not enough common sense."

Renei's eyes narrowed to slits. If that was how he really felt about her... Then he had unknowingly just given her her answer. "And you'll always be a spiteful little boy, so used to getting his way that he doesn't even know how to go after what he really wants."

"You don't know anything," He yanked the door open with more flourish and strength than necessary, and delved his hands into the pockets of his slacks before he walked out, voice a cold drone fading in her direction. "Not anything at all, of the things I really want."

* * *

A/N: This chapter's title is inspired by the song "Deep Waters" by Incognito. Ahhh, how I love that sweet jazz...

Is it a crime  
For me to be feeling this way  
I'm going out of my mind  
And there's no change from my runaway love

Is it a dream  
That I'm throwing in the wishing well  
I'm losin' control  
Body and soul  
Standin' here waiting for a train that may never come

I saw the signs  
I'd read the book  
I should have had a second look  
But, boy you caught me dreamin'  
And there were times you'd come around  
And we'd agree just to be friends  
Tell me who was foolin' who

Deep waters, I'm drownin' in  
Deep waters, slowly drownin' in deeper  
Deep waters, I'm drownin' in  
Deep waters, slowly drownin' in deeper

What do I say, what can I say  
Where words have failed me before  
What do I do, when I'm feeling so blue  
And there's no place, for me to run and hide

I saw the sun inside your smile  
And wished for more than just a while  
Cause, boy you caught me dreaming  
A giant step into the dark  
We threw caution to the wind  
Tell me who was fooling who

I'm drownin'  
Deeper, deeper, deeper  
I'm drownin' in deeper

Oh, I saw the signs  
I read the book  
I should have had a second look  
'cause, boy you caught me dreamin'  
And there were times you'd come around  
And we'd agree just to be friends  
Tell me who was fooling, fooling who...


	22. Enemy of Mine Enemy

A/N: This is gonna be random, but... Oh my word, there are so many talented writers in this world. Isn't it _awesome?!_ XD The creativity is never-ending!

For anyone who hasn't read the book _Fangirl_ by Rainbow Rowell, go read it immediately. And the book by the same author which is basically _Fangirl_ 's companion novel, _Carry On_.

I recently finished _Fangirl_ (and I'm about to start on _Carry On,_ which is the fan fiction the main character in _Fangirl_ writes... you'd have to read the books to understand _)_ , and that book really gives me inspiration to write. Also, it gets me pretty emotional, because I feel so in touch with the main character, Cather, it's almost crazy. Such a good read! Also also, Levi is the ideal boyfriend and, warning, after reading about his character you will be setting very high expectations for boys in real life. Just saying.

Another book I recently finished is _Howl's Moving Castle_ (the book is so much longer, and better, and altogether _different_ from the movie), and I will soon get to work on its sequels/companion novels. I have fallen head over heels in love with the author Diana Wynne Jones, her writing is so magical, honest, and bracing. I definitely recommend her to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.

If you couldn't already tell, I've been doing a lot of real-life-book reading lately, as apposed to reading fan fiction. I _missed_ real books, it feels like I took a forever-long hiatus from them right after my first year of high school, maybe even before that, so it's been a while. I missed hunting for the right one, holding them, smelling them, curling up with them and getting lost in the pages for hours on end... Reading them and writing some of my own... But I still love reading and writing fan fiction too. There's got to be a happy medium somewhere between the two, right? And goddamn, my room is starting to look more and more like a tiny, cozy and cramped library. I love it. Hopefully the book smell will seep in.

Anyway, enjoy your long-awaited chapter, my lovelies! And just a reminder: I do not own Kaichou wa Maid-sama. It is trademarked by the beautifully talented Hiro Fujiwara.

CK:*

* * *

"The enemy of mine enemy is my friend." ― Ancient Proverb (translation: two opposing parties can or should work together against a common enemy)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

Enemy of Mine Enemy

...

Tora strutted down the halls with enough sharp movement to his steps that everyone made sure to stay out of his way. He flashed reassuring smiles at a few concerned-looking passersby, but something in his eyes told them to keep their distance.

His phone started to buzz in his pocket, and he ignored it as he turned a corner at the end of the hall. He wasn't even fully aware of where he was going, he just wanted to get away from everything that had transpired in the music room.

The buzzing coming from his pocket stopped, then started up again after a moment. He fisted a hand around his cell phone tightly, wondering who it was but not too keen on answering yet. First he had to get his thoughts in order, to collect himself.

He was approaching a set of double doors now, which led outside to a balcony. The fresh air summoned him like a song as he recalled it had been rather... _stuffy_ back in that room with Renei.

Ten seconds later Tora was standing out in broad daylight, overlooking the east half of Miyabigaoka's campus. He sucked in a few much-needed breaths of sweet, spring air, relaxing his previously tense shoulders before fishing his phone from his pocket as it started up again with its insistent buzzing.

" _Yes?_ " He answered brusquely, not giving much care toward disguising the annoyance in his voice.

"Is there something the matter, Tiger-kun?" It was Gerald on the other end.

Tora's voice switched over to a low and polite lilt, suggesting he were smiling, though he was most definitely not. "Not at all, Gerald-san. It's a beautiful day to take a walk outdoors, and I simply wasn't expecting to have the peace broken by a phone call. May I ask what this is about?"

"Ah, I envy you. The weather in England is always so dreary..." A sigh was heard on the other end of the phone, followed by the muffled sound of someone coughing into their sleeve. "...That I seem to have developed a cold. I'm bedridden at the moment, and terribly bored at that, so I figured I'd check in on you."

"Is there anything specific you wanted to check on?"

"Well, there is the matter of my brother―"

"He's already decided to attend Miyabigaoka, as planned, and as promised, I will be keeping a close eye on him."

"―and the matter of his upcoming birthday."

Here Tora paused, listening for whatever it was the other man wanted him to _do_ about Takumi's birthday. At least, he assumed he was expected to do something about it.

He suspected correctly.

Gerald, his speech broken up by a series of coughing and wheezing, explained that he wanted the event to be particularly grand, with all sorts of special guests and décor; plus a bronze statue of his brother as a birthday gift, if that could be arranged.

"I understand." When Tora spoke again, he had erased the annoyance completely from his tone (though it had taken a healthy dose of self-control in order to do so). "Well then... I will plan things accordingly. It will be on the 27th, that very day."

"It's a pity that I won't be able to attend." The way Gerald said that suggested that it wasn't, really. "I'm counting on you, Tiger-kun. After all, we'll need to have him agree with taking on the leading role."

"Yes, of course. Good day, Walker-san."

"I wouldn't say so..." A pathetic wheezing noise interrupted him. "...Enjoy the sunlight while it lasts, Tiger-kun." The line went dead, abruptly cutting off another series of coughs.

Tora pocketed his phone and turned to ease himself back against the railing. Rays from the sun fell over his frame, warming him as he gazed down at what he could see of the school's massive botanical garden below.

Students were shuffling in and out of different greenhouses, clusters of them traveling from one group of plants to another with research notebooks in hand. It was so peaceful, standing here, watching the rest of the world pass by. And peace was such a rare thing to come by, for him...

The thought of Renei's hands clasped in his own crossed his mind, and Tora closed his eyes to remember the feeling more clearly. He couldn't fathom why he'd gone and done a thing like that, but her words had been pushing, prodding him to do _something_ in that moment.

 _She had soft hands,_ He recalled, smirking slightly. He remembered the way those hands had closed around his wrists, holding him there tightly, and yet so delicately at the same time. He remembered the feel of her bare skin beneath his fingertips, and wanting to kiss her, and having to stop himself.

Ayuzawa had never been his to take, but Renei was. He could do anything he wanted with her, and there wouldn't be any consequences ― no one would blame him for it, no one would be upset with him for doing it. It was perfectly fine, even expected, for him to be intimate with his fiancée.

But _she_ didn't want him touching her, if her strict rule on the two of them not becoming intimate was anything to go by. She didn't want _him_ at all, except for the sake of using him to protect _someone else._

 _She already has someone else, just like Ayuzawa has. She isn't really yours to take._

Providing himself with this reminder, Tora's smirk dropped, and he opened his eyes. There were always certain details he couldn't ignore. Nothing ever counted, in his book, unless the other person actually wanted it ― wanted him, specifically. Nothing counted when the girl already had feelings for someone else, or when they only wanted him for all the _things_ he could offer, instead of he himself. This was just a repeat of what he had gone through with Ayuzawa and Usui, and Renei was just using him as all other women, or people in general, had the tendency to do.

Ah yes, and speaking of the blond Walker boy... Where the hell was he going to find someone to create a statue of that guy's annoying visage?

Tora stared blankly off into the distance for a little longer, quietly breathing in the atmosphere, attempting to lose himself in the feel of the sun and a barely perceptible wind tickling his skin. It would have been nice ― except Renei's subtle, flowery scent was lingering on his person, as if she were still standing right there with him. Her image seemed to be burning brightly in the forefront of his mind, thoughts of almost kissing her only serving to rankle him further, effectively ruining any semblance of peace.

"Focus," He released a breath that had been held in for far too long. "You don't actually want her." Saying this, Tora straightened up properly and moved to return indoors. "She's the last thing that you could possibly end up wanting."

He wouldn't let this become like the last time he had invested this much in a woman. No, this situation, this _game_ was not going to become any more personal than it had to be.

For the sake of his sanity, he refused to try taking what once again ― wasn't his.

xx

"Kya~! Haruto-senpai! Shin-senpai!"

Shin turned and winked at the plethora of fangirls following them, while Haruto hurriedly dragged him around another corner.

"Please stop encouraging them!" The singer begged, looking back at his red-haired friend with a pout.

"But Haru, they love us! They're our fans, we're _supposed_ to encourage them!" Shin waved his free hand at the girls, who were chasing them down and quickly gaining on them, too. To most others it might be frightening, but with the red-head's ego, he was only able to find this flattering, of course.

Haru blew an inky strand of hair out of his face and skidded around another corner, Shin's plodding footsteps slowing them down bit by bit even as he was forced to run right behind his friend. Things had been like this ever since their ascension to fame; they couldn't so much as walk out of class without being bombarded by small groups of fans, at first... Which quickly turned into larger mobs as news of their success in the music industry spread around the school. This being Miyabigaoka, however, most young women either wanted to sleep with them, coerce them into a business deal, or both. Some were just your average, run-of-the-mill admirers, though. (If your average, run-of-the-mill admirer was an obsessive-stalker type).

"Showing their appreciation for our music is one thing, but lately all I've been faced with is harassment." Haru continued his complaints as they went. "In the beginning a little recognition was nice, but now I'm just paranoid about everything!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, weirdo. How is showering us with gifts and asking for autographs a form of harassment?"

"Look at what they did to my hair!" The boy's green eyes, tired and rimmed with red, tossed a panicked look back at his friend. "One of them cut a chunk of it off when I wasn't looking, I don't even know how!" His voice ended on yet another keening whine, something you might hear from a kicked puppy.

Shin regarded the other young man with, not pity, not sympathy, but amusement glistening behind his gaze. His friend was definitely going to need a new haircut ― the wavy black locks that usually fell past his shoulders had a noticeable amount missing in the back. Poor kid. Someone was probably going to sell it on E-bay, or add it to their fangirl shrine, or maybe even use it to try casting a love spell on him. Who knows what strange things fangirls will resort to?

"Can you really blame them though?" He smiled his crooked smile. "You could model for shampoo commercials with hair that luxurious."

"Shiiiiin!" Haru gave him his best glare, though the pout kind of ruined whatever effect it was supposed to have. "Why do you always have to tease me?"

"Just for fun, really. You're like the kid brother I never had." He looked over his shoulder. "By the way, they're much closer than before. Probably gonna reach us soon."

Haruto's eyes went as round as saucers. "Then run faster, Shin-chan, run faster!"

"Buuuuut, the fans will be so disappointed," It was Shin's turn to pout. "And I'm pretty sure they have cake―"

"Cake doesn't matter now! What if they try to steal something else of mine? Like―" Haru inhaled sharply. "Like my handheld! My games! Oh, damn you, Shin! _Please_ I am _begging_ you to run faster, I can't live without my games!"

"For crying out loud, Haru, they are not going to steal your video games. They're _girls_."

"You don't know that! A lot of girls like video games!" From the tremble in his voice now, it was obvious that the ravenette was close to or had already broken into tears. When he turned his head back to look at Shin, his bottom lip was quivering, those pretty eyes wide and miserable-looking, even more red-rimmed than before.

"God damn― C'mon Haru, don't start that up." Shin abruptly felt guilt prickling through his spine, and it only worsened when green eyes started to well up with unshed tears. "Look, okay, you're fine. Everything is fine." He started to pick up the pace, moving forward quickly to drag his friend along instead. He was actually the faster of the two of them, but he did hate running. Especially running _away_ from _girls_. But Haru looked so pitiful... "We'll find somewhere to hide until the crowds die down, just don't start up with the water works, you know how I _hate_ it when you get like that."

"I'm just worried about―"

"Your games. I get it, okay? I'm moving faster now. See?"

Haru sniffed. "And... My hair..."

"That can easily be fixed. Nao can cut and style the rest of it for you, she's good at that kind of stuff." They came around another corner, and reached a dead end ― a wide nook with comfy chairs and a couple windows that was one of the school's many quiet study corners. Several people looked up sourly when Shin swore loudly and Haru let out a whimper; and the look on Haru's face as they doubled back and ran off down a different corridor made Shin's guilt intensify tenfold. Maybe he was being a little inconsiderate back there, but, the fans... The cute, adoring fans, with their boxes of chocolates and cakes and other goodies... Shin shook his head, refocusing on the present moment. They were about to round another corner, hopefully one that lead somewhere useful they could hide―

 _Crash!_

"Ooof!"

"Aaahhh!"

The two boys collided roughly with another student, sending all three tumbling to the floor in an awkward heap of limbs.

"Ugghh... Um, sorry, I didn't see you there..." Shin was the first to recover, pressing his hand down so that he could prop himself up―

"Aahh!" The same scream from before repeated, and then a resounding 'SMACK!' walloped him across the face. Luckily, as Shin tottered backwards, Haru was able to catch him in his arms as he sat up as well. "What are you, trying to cop a feel?" The voice continued. "You disgusting дурак!"

"Shin-chan, are you alright?" Haru fussed worriedly, momentarily forgetting about the fangirls who would surely be on them at any given moment.

The red-head nodded a bit, gently rubbing a hand over the tender side of his face. His eyes were wide, then narrow when they found Sanyu's. "Rulin, what are you, sadistic? That's the second time you've hit me hard enough to leave a mark, and both times weren't even warranted!"

"Your hand," Her voice was thick with ice as she sat up to glare at him. "Was on my breast, you delinquent!"

Shin glanced down at said-hand, then looked to her chest. Sanyu was a very petite person, and as such, he hadn't really felt much when he had set his hand there. Not that she was flat-chested or anything, but, she certainly wasn't as _well-endowed_ as other girls... In any case, it was an accident. "Uhhh... Right. Sorry?"

Her glare intensified. "You did that on purpose! You're even looking at them!"

"What," Shin averted his gaze immediately. "No, I wasn't! I mean, I was, but not because of the reasons that you th―"

"Rulin-chan," Haru spoke up meekly, seeing as Shin was digging a bigger hole for himself. "Neither of us meant to bump into you. We were just running from―"

"Look, there they are!" A different voice cut in, and that's when the sound of footsteps grew closer, and closer, until...

"Hey," Another girl panted, placing her hands on her hips as she and several others walked up to the three students still seated on the floor. "What's Rulin-san doing with the two of you?"

Sanyu rolled her eyes. "Oh. I see what's going on here." She started to stand up, muttering curses and insults under her breath, which alternated between Japanese and Russian.

Shin stood up first, however, moving in apology to give her a hand. "I didn't mean to knock you over―" He started, ignoring the fangirls at his back.

She slapped his hand away with a scoff. "I can see that, Yoshikawa. But you're still not allowed to touch me."

He grit his teeth and winced. "And it wasn't my intention to feel you up, either!" He hissed under his breath.

Someone in their audience must have heard. "WHAT? Shin, you bad boy!"

"Why her? She doesn't even seem to like you!"

"Is it because she plays hard to get?"

"What about you and Nakajima? I thought that was a thing."

"Isn't Haru with Nakajima?"

"Forget that, Haru is mine!"

"SHIN!" It was Haru's voice this time, calling out for help as several girls sauntered up to him just as he was getting to his feet. He didn't say much else, but when Shin looked over, the other boy's eyes screamed for help.

The girls started playing with the green-eyed boy's hair. "Ugh! Just look at what someone did to his hair! It's ruined!"

"Such a shame!"

"Heyy, Haru-kun," Another girl pet his arm and fluttered her lashes at him. "My aunt owns a salon, and I'm actually studying to be beautician. I could fix you up with a new hairdo, if you want~"

"Well _my_ family," Another girl shoved closer. "Owns a clothing line. And we'd be more than happy to sponsor you and your band, Haru, I even happen to have a contract already written up―"

"My father has better connections in the _music industry,_ specifically, than all of your families combined!"

"Don't listen to them, Haru! They just want to use you. Me, on the other hand~"

As this went on and on, Shin stood there staring like an idiot, unsure of who to intercept first on their way to crowd the other boy. In the end, he never got the chance to help out his friend, because Sanyu moved in front of him and blocked him off from the others.

"Question," She stated with one brow arched high. "You and Nakajima. _Are_ you secretly together?"

Obsidian eyes widened comically, and Shin sputtered, looking around at the few curious faces who happened to look over at that. "Well, I, um. It's... complicated..."

"SHIN!" Haru called again, to no avail.

Sanyu's eyes narrowed, and something devious lit up behind them. "I see." Without further ado than that, she latched onto the red-haired boy's arm and pulled him off in some random direction. "Excuse us, everyone." She spat the words over her shoulder sourly.

"Hey, wait a second!"

"Yeah, hold up Rulin, you don't get to sneak him off like that!"

"Yes," She spun to face the girls who dared to follow them, with a certain amount of malice in her tone. Even her eyes sparkled with something dark, not to mention, threatening. "I do. He's mine, for the time being, so why don't you go play with your other toy instead?" She gestured to Haruto, who was squirming to break free from the cage of young women surrounding him.

"Nooo! Shin-chaaan, don't leave me!" The other boy pleaded, as more girls turned to face him with a predatory glimmer in their eyes.

"Haru―" Shin tried to move back, but Sanyu was clinging to him with a grip like iron. He winced as she dragged him along. "Hey, Rulin, where the _hell_ are you taking me? I need to help―"

"Somewhere private." She relayed.

He froze up, refusing to move after that, no matter how tight her grip on his arm became. She turned to face him, smirking at the red in his cheeks that matched his hair.

"Look, you're pretty and all― like, really, really gorgeous, but―"

"But?" Her smirk grew, pearly teeth sparkling through it.

"But, I..." Shin's head spun, his mind reaching out for an excuse, anything but the truth, of course. "I have to... focus on my career, more than anything else, so―"

"You are a terrible liar."

"What?" He was sputtering again. "I-I'm not lying, my career takes up a lot of my time―"

"So do your fans. Most of which are young women..."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean―"

"But that doesn't mean that you _do_ anything with them? Right. Because they're not Nakajima?" Her eyes lit up while he blinked back at her in shock. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit the nail on the head? See, you really are such a bad liar, it's written all over your face."

Shin looked off to the side with a huff. "M'not lying..." Came the muffled response, and then he snapped back at her gruffly, "You're hurting my arm, by the way. Vile woman."

Sanyu didn't release her grip. Instead, she gave him a harsh jerk, and started pulling him along again. "Look, simpleton. I know your reputation as a lady's man proceeds you," She snorted. "but I also know when to call bullshit when I see it. Despite how much you seem to enjoy all the attention from other girls, it is blatantly obvious that you harbor much stronger feelings for one particular дурак. For whatever reason."

"You don't get to tell me," Shin fought to pull his arm away, scowling and blushing all the more. He was furious, but more than that, he was embarrassed. And he couldn't very well hit a girl, no matter how much of a crazy, albeit attractive, chit she was. "How my life works!"

"But," Sanyu continued, shrugging and sighing as she ignored his attempts to pull away. "She doesn't seem to return your feelings. So tragic. Or if she does, it doesn't matter, because she's engaged to someone else."

They came to the base of a staircase, and a few students passed by as they were coming down, or headed up. Instead of ascending the stairs like the rest, Sanyu paused to think, then pulled Shin around until they were hidden in the narrow alcove under the stairs. And slowly, covered in shadow and looking much too up to no good for his liking, she backed him up into a corner.

"What is this?" Shin asked uneasily, as she pressed a hand to his chest and hummed at the feeling of hard muscle beneath.

"You're not a bad specimen after all, I admit," Came her purr of a response, and then he found himself trapped by a pair of aqua-colored eyes as she leaned in closer. They were cold, but seductive all the same. Her breath was warm against his jawline in comparison. "Though I do prefer Igarashi."

Reaching a hand up to push her back, Shin's expression went dark and stormy. "I don't like being teased, Rulin. Get off."

"Is that an invitation?" Her eyes flashed, her other hand creeping around to his belt. With a quick tug, she pulled him flush against her, smiling at the startled sound he made. "Awww... You're rather... Cute, actually." Surprise was in her eyes now, the pleasant type. "Cuter than I first thought. Why haven't I gotten my hands on you until now?"

"Well obviously, you never found me appealing." His voice was a low growl as he grabbed both of her hands clumsily into one of his. "Look, you are beautiful, really. And I know I'm not too shabby myself. Regardless of that, whatever you're playing at right now, I'm not interested." Taking his free hand up, he shoved her back a step and moved past her as quickly as possible.

Sanyu reached back and caught ahold of his jacket. "Yes, you are. At least, I _know_ you have been before."

"No... Maybe. I dunno, that was mostly to get someone's attention..." Taking note of Sanyu's knowing smirk, he frowned back at her. "The point is, I'm not interested anymore, for any reason. Let go of―"

"Let me get to the point, if you really can't be... _physically_ persuaded." She sighed as if it was such a shame, and gave a quick tug on his jacket. "Come on, Yoshikawa. You're curious, aren't you?"

When he turned back around, her smirk was back in full force, more devious than before as she sidled up to him again and reached up to trace his face. "Hmm~" Came her purr of delight. "There's a good boy. I can see why Nakajima keeps you around..."

"Shut up." This time, he smacked her hand away, as gently as his anger would allow him to. "I'm her friend, not her dog."

"Could have fooled me." Sanyu, relentless woman that she is, trailed her fingers back up to his face and lightly brushed over the angry creases in his forehead, as if attempting to smooth them out. When his scowl only deepened, her touch trailed over to the end of his left eyebrow, playing along the silver studs protruding there. "I like the piercings. Very edgy." Curling into the shape of his body, she whispered up to his ear, "You should get one on your tongue, I hear it makes kissing... more interesting."

"I thought," His jaw clenched tight. "you were getting to the point?"

Sanyu planted a light kiss below his ear, smiling as he tried to jolt away. Smoothly, she brought both hands to the ends of his jacket and yanked him closer again. "I will... But first, I want a sample of you."

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Again, Shin jolted away, and again, her grip on his jacket helped her to yank him right back.

"I don't think so, no." She spoke slyly, lips back at his ear and slowly, teasingly trailing down to his neck. Shin sucked in a breath at the contact, and when her mouth opened to start planting a series of wet kisses to the sensitive skin, his resolve to be careful with how he handled her (she was so _small_ , after all, nearly Nao's size) broke.

Grabbing her shoulders forcefully, the red-head shoved her around and pressed her up against the wall with little effort. His shoulders tensed up, his muscles rippling to life beneath the now stifling heat of his uniform as he tried to keep some distance between their bodies; putting her at arm's-length, shoving her front-side-first into the corner he'd been backed up against not too long ago.

"Oh my, Shin-san." With her back turned to him, Sanyu could only spare a sultry glance over her shoulder. "Are you going to take me from behind?"

Shin's face, if at all possible, turned an even brighter shade of red. His throat felt itchy, and he was immediately desperate for a drink of water. "Shut _up!_ " He shoved her further into the hard surface of the wall, twitching as she moaned like she was enjoying it. "Quit that! Christ, Rulin, what is _wrong_ with you?"

"To be honest, I've been pretty neglected lately." She wiggled her hips back at him, and he looked away with a huff of annoyance. Her tinny laughter met his ears. "Obviously, you have too. You're so... _tense_."

"I will not," Shin decided more firmly than ever, meeting her smirk with a deadpan expression. "Play your sick games with you." When she wiggled her hips again, he all but growled, "Just _what_ , for the love of God, is this really all about?! If you need to get laid that badly, don't abduct the first person you literally bump into!"

"First it's Jesus, now it's God." She tossed him a mocking grin. "If I had known you were a man of religion, I might have come to you sooner. I do _so_ love the act of corruption."

Shin shoved away from her, cursing up a storm, and swiveling on his heel to get out of there as soon as possible. The woman, he had reached the clear conclusion, was off her rocker. Bat shit. Crazy. And it was now hotter than hell under that staircase, the air practically thick enough to suffocate.

Sanyu, of course, had spun around and hurried after him, catching him when he was already half-way up the stairs. She barely had the time to reach for his sleeve when he turned on her, glowering down in a much more intimidating fashion now that he had the added height of being two steps above her.

"Don't." His eyes were black, darker than black, and they warned her against taking even one step closer. "We're done here. You're quite obviously out of your mind, Rulin, if you think you can seduce me, or, or something." He ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh on the last few words, because, really, he had no idea _where_ this was coming from and why it was _him_ she was suddenly so eager to... Pursue.

The caramel-haired young woman was quick to switch tactics again with a pout. "If I promise to behave, will you at least let me get to my point?"

A student passed by, giving the two an odd look, seeing as they were taking up the entire middle of the stairway.

"People are staring," Sanyu prompted further, trying to appeal to his sense of embarrassment.

With a grumble building up in his throat somewhere, Shin reached out and grabbed Sanyu's hand. Their eyes met, and he practically threw her up the stairs after him. "I'm gonna give you one last chance, _one_ , you got that? To explain yourself." He relented as they traveled through the halls, dark eyes darting around for a place that wasn't too crowded, yet not exactly private, either. There had to be witnesses, so she wouldn't pounce on him again. "Are you hungry?"

Sanyu, not much of a follower, ripped her hand from his grasp and moved to walk beside him. "Not exactly, but I could got for an iced tea."

"We're getting coffee." Shin decided firmly, his eyes flitting over to a coffee shop settled in on a corner beside the Genius Bar. _Oh yes, wonderful placement with that. Who wouldn't want to accidentally spill their beverage all over their new tablet?_ Shin thought sarcastically with a twitch to his eyebrow ― because that had actually happened to him, once. After that incident, he had made a mental note to go to the Genius Bar first and get a coffee afterward, if he ever found himself in this wing of the school again.

But they weren't going to the Genius Bar at all, this time around. The second Sanyu had started feeling him up, he had been in desperate need of an ice cold drink. Preferably one that would curb his raging sweet tooth, which was really aching for a cigarette right now actually, not sugar.

"Old habits die hard." He muttered to himself.

"The coffee shop is fine by me." Sanyu's voice drifted back to him. "You _do_ know that they serve tea there as well, don't you?"

"Yes," Shin stopped in front of the shop with a newfound glimmer in his eyes. The smell of coffee was wafting through the air toward them ― he could almost already _feel_ the sugar and caffeine in his veins ― and it made all of the tension in his body sink away. "But you haven't lived until you've tried their Raspberry Cheesecake Latte."

Aqua eyes regarded him with a certain flat look. "What are you, a girl?"

He frowned down at her, "Bitter things make me sick."

"It's a good thing I'm so sweet, then." She offered with a wink, and when Shin opened his mouth to retaliate, she was already dragging him along with her into the coffee shop. "Now be a good boy and order those drinks. You're paying."

xx

Fifteen minutes later found the two of them sitting together at a booth, which Sanyu was able to clear out with one icy look at the kids who had gotten there first.

"You're mean." Shin supplied bluntly before taking a sip from his dessert-in-a-cup.

"Being nice doesn't get you what you want, silly boy." Sanyu smirked at him as she circled a finger around the rim of her cup. "But you'd know that already from first-hand experience, wouldn't you?"

Swallowing another delicious sip of his beverage, the red-head gazed back at her with an eyebrow raised as calmly as he could manage. "See? Mean. I didn't buy you that drink so that we could sit here and trash talk each other."

"Calling me 'mean' isn't exactly trash talk." Her smirk seemed to stretch wider, if at all possible.

"Fine. Then let's call it what it really is." Shin shrugged, taking another sip before finishing his thought, "You're an ice cold bitch, who's confusing as hell. When you first transferred here, I complimented you and you _slapped_ me for it. Now, today, I run into you _on accident_ , and you _slap_ me, yet again. Then you proceed to throw yourself at me, as if I'm suddenly the most attractive thing on the planet―"

Sanyu pulled the straw halfway out of her cup, then pushed it back down, perfectly blasé as he spoke of what bordered on bipolar behavior. "Yes, yes, we've covered this. You're really not half bad, now that I've taken a closer look."

"Oh geez, I'm blushing." He rolled his eyes. "Now, are you gonna tell me what's up, or not? This isn't really about getting into my pants, is it?"

"Well, it is _partly_ about getting into your pants, now that I've gotten a little taste of you..." She playfully responded, tongue flicking out to lap at her straw, before sucking it into her mouth.

Shin shuddered, and it wasn't from the cold drink in his hands. " _Don't_ say things like that! This isn't the animal kingdom, Rulin, you don't _taste_ people like they're some sort of afternoon snack."

She leaned onto the table, eyes glittering in amusement. "Have you ever had sex before, Yoshikawa?"

Pink latte nearly came spewing out from his nose. " _Excuse you?_ "

" _Sex_ , you idiot. Have you ever had sex?"

"It― That is―" Shin let out a breath of air he seemed to have been choking on. "Yes, I have, not that it's _any_ of your business."

"Well, was it _good_ sex?" Her eyes weren't just glittering, they were lighting up with sparkles of excitement now. "Y'know... The rolling around like animals kind? The kind that requires an awful lot of _tasting_ , if you know what I mean?" Her tongue lapped at the straw again, sucking it into her mouth to get another sip of her tea.

"Please stop." Shin crushed his cup between both hands, and whipped cream spumed out of the top. "I will literally pay you to stop talking."

"I'm just proving a point." Sanyu breathed, leaning back in a way that was all self-satisfaction. Her tea was mercifully left abandoned on the table.

"Well, thanks for that." He purposely stared at anything but the girl seated in the booth with him. "But also, no thanks. Anyway, if you want to talk about the _actual_ issue here, then I'm all ears. Otherwise, I'm going to go enjoy my latte somewhere else, where you won't bother me anymore."

"Had enough teasing?"

"I never wanted it to begin with."

"But if Nakajima were the one doing it―"

"Get to," His hand slapped down on the table with enough force to startle her into jumping even further back. "the point. Or I really am going to leave."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Pouting again, she flicked a stray hair out of her face. When she looked back to him, he was glaring at her like it was a death threat, and she switched out her pout for a deep frown. "Fine then, here's the actual issue: your woman is getting a little too cozy with my man."

"She's not my woman." Shin responded sincerely, his glare faltering slightly. "And the last time I checked, Igarashi isn't your man."

Here, Sanyu paused to take a longer, less suggestive and more thoughtful, sip from her tea. Her tone was softer when she answered, "Care to help me change all of that?"

Obsidian eyes narrowed, but they were no longer glaring. "What?"

"I want him," She replied simply. "And you want her..."

"What we want doesn't matter."

"Well then let's _make_ it matter."

" _Rulin_ ," He eased back into the booth's leather seats, promptly growing hot under the collar. His foot started to tap nervously under the table, debating whether to get up and leave. "I don't think I like where this is going―"

" _Yoshikawa_ ," Her eyes, even before her words, told him the truth he didn't want to acknowledge. "We both already know that you do. You wouldn't still be sitting here with me if you didn't."

Shin went silent at that, but the nervous tapping of his foot turned into a fully-blown shaking of his leg.

"They don't even like each other," Sanyu pressed on smartly. "It's obvious, isn't it? Igarashi's going through hell, and dragging her down with him. Nakajima's fighting back because she has no other choice. Nothing good will come of their relationship."

Still, silence from the other end of the table.

"Try to not think of it as breaking up a marriage, just think of it as..." She paused, searching. "Saving two people from making a huge mistake."

Shin bit his lip roughly enough to taste a copper trace of blood. He already knew all of this, he really did, but... Thinking back to the serious conversation he'd had with Renei about it...

 _"If I don't follow through with this engagement, everything will fall apart."_ Her frustration echoed in his ears, backed up by a sense of fear.

Right, and he hated that she was afraid. He also hated that she was too selfless. This wasn't about what she wanted at all, he had known that for a while now. The marriage was about what Renei's mother and Igarashi's parents wanted. Neither of them had much of a choice in the matter, and they really were miserable.

Weren't they?

"Are you certain..." Shin didn't want to say it, but he had to put it out there. He had to make sure. "That they don't have feelings for one another? Even if it's only a little, that could grow into something more with time."

Sanyu looked stricken. "Why would you even ask that? As if there was ever any doubt that they don't fit well together! He's too much for her to handle, and she's too boring for him to bother with." When that comment earned her a sharp look from the red-head, she added on with her nose turned up, "Well, at the very least, they certainly don't enjoy one another's company. I'd even go so far as to say their relationship borders on hatred."

Shin could disagree with that, seeing as Renei had defended Tora when he had wrongfully assumed the blond to be the reason of her injured hand. But, then again, he recalled even more recently the fact that she was learning judo from the Okimotos, just in case she ever had to kick Igarashi's ass. Come to think of it, her sudden interest in learning to defend herself was... Odd. Did he miss something? She would confide in him if something bad happened, right?

"Don't you care about her?" Sanyu cut into his thoughts again.

"Oh," His tone was all sarcasm biting back at her. "I thought that much was all too obvious, apparently."

"Then," She smiled back prettily. "Do we have a deal?"

"...I don't want to lie to her."

"You don't have to tell her about it."

"But if she asks," Shin's eyes flickered with worry. "If she figures out what's going on, and she asks me about it... I don't want to lie to her. I always tell the truth, I _told_ her that I always tell the truth―"

"But what if you were lying to save her from something? That's not as bad."

"A lie is a lie, Rulin." His gaze hardened. "If she asks about it, I'm gonna tell her."

The young woman sighed irritably. "You're hopeless. You know that, right?"

"No," With an eyebrow arched high in the most supercilious way he could think of, Shin took an annoyingly slurpy sip from his latte. He hadn't even realized it was nearly gone, until now. "I just have morals."

"Morals are annoying." Sanyu stated, then added with a tic in her jaw once he took another big slurp from the cup, "You're annoying."

"Annoyingly attractive, you mean?" The red-haired boy smiled that crooked, guilty-as-charged-looking smile of his. "Yes indeed."

"Look who's flirting now, hmm?"

"It's a defense mechanism, nothing more." He winked, purposely taking another loud sip from the drink. "Wouldn't touch you if you paid me." He added on between sips.

Aqua eyes fluttered angrily for a moment, then settled on a look of half amusement, half disbelief. "Oh come on, now... I'm attractive, you're attractive..." She reached across the booth to squeeze his knee suggestively. "And life is short."

"Wow." Shin gazed down at her rather humorlessly. "It's no wonder you tried to seduce me first with your body. Your methods of verbal seduction are shit."

Her gaze threatened to turn him to stone, if only the ice within it had the ability to. "And you're a shitty liar. Now I've run out of patience for your answer. Do we have a deal, or not?"

Shin looked away as he slurped up the last bit of liquid from his drink. Even the whipped cream was all sucked up through the straw, gone within the next few seconds. He hardly tasted it as he questioned himself, though.

Could he really go behind Renei's back if it meant he was helping her, in the end? Part of him admitted it was mostly a selfish scheme, because it wasn't all for her benefit. He wouldn't be interfering at all if he didn't like her the way that he did. He just wanted Tora out of the picture. For Renei's sake, and his own sake as well.

It was probably a bad idea. Especially when Sanyu Rulin was the one coercing him into it.

But... the worst idea of all was Renei marrying that sorry excuse of a would-be husband. Tora wouldn't ever treat her with the respect and care she deserved. And as Renei's friend, Shin couldn't bear to stand by and let worst come to worst; not when he could essentially stop the worst from ever happening. He didn't want his friend to be miserable, and watching her tie herself down in an unhealthy wedlock would be torture for him, too. Not to mention her own brother ― yes, Masao would surely support this decision to step in and make a difference before it was too late. In fact, if the man knew everything that Igarashi had previously done and was still capable of doing, he would have intervened with the engagement already himself before Shin could do a single thing about it.

So really, this had to be the right thing to do. For the sake of a friend... for the sake of her brother's and Shin's own sanity...

"Alright, yeah." He finally found himself agreeing.

"I want to hear you say it, latte boy." Sanyu sneered up at him. "So that it really seeps in. I want to know that you're on my side."

"I'm not doing this for you." He snapped, slamming his empty cup down on the hand that was still squeezing his knee. "Don't think of it as a favor."

Sanyu withdrew her hand and rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure, whatever. Tell me we have a deal."

"Sure, whatever." He repeated roughly, dark eyes meeting her blue ones in a stubborn clash of wills. "We have a deal. And if you tell anyone about this―"

"Wouldn't that be you," She scooched closer to him, poking a finger into his chest. "with your whole insistent 'I can't tell a lie' routine?"

"It's only in the instance that she asks, that I would tell her!"

"And what if Tora asks me about it? Should I break down and tell him that we're interrupting his little game?" Sanyu pressed him further with a glare. "It's not just my head on the chopping block if either of them find out, you know. Your 'good guy' routine will only get you so far." The glare melted into a sultry smirk when she noticed he was inching away from her, flustered and huffing, prepped to make his escape from the table. "Hey, wait a second, I'm not done with you yet~" Her hand trailed up his chest, cold even through the fabric of his shirt, which she scrunched up in her hand as she tried to pull him back.

"Has anyone ever told you," Shin was quick to grab ahold of that hand, and even quicker to steal a glance around the shop and make sure no one had seen the rather obvious advances she was making on him. He thought he caught someone staring in their direction, and briefly let his guard down while trying to get a better look at whoever it was; murmuring distractedly back to Sanyu, "that you are―"

Moving practically into his lap, she planted a slow, unexpected kiss on his mouth that definitely re-focused his full attention on her. One of her hands was back to collecting the fabric of his shirt in her grasp, holding him hostage, and the other had its fingers twisted up in his hair somewhere, smoothly caressing through the fiery strands. His hands closed around her waist automatically in response, pausing there just long enough for her to feel the urge he had to kiss her back.

Sanyu found herself sprawled at the other end of the booth a few seconds later, watching with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as the boy catapulted himself around the table and onto his feet, red all over and guilty-looking.

"Terrifying." His voice was a harsh breath, one of his hands frantically raking through his hair like that would help him get rid of whatever mess she'd just made of it ― of course, it only proved in making the mess worse. "I was going to say, terrifying."

"I'm thinking you should listen to my advice from earlier, Shin..." She used his first name, licking her lips and pondering his aftertaste. He tasted sweet, like whipped cream. "You should definitely get yourself that tongue piercing. It'll spice things up a bit for next time."

A vein protruded quite noticeably in his forehead, his embarrassment and frustrations so apparent now, she was laughing and calling him cute again.

"Do you even have a plan?!" He argued, hoping he hadn't just made a terrible mistake by agreeing to this 'deal'.

Needless to say, the person who had been ― and still was ― staring at them, was long forgotten at this point.

Kaon Umekoji had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. That, and she liked to follow people around if she saw anything suspiciously noteworthy, although this time, it was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Stopped short in the middle of ordering her coffee, her eyes had been glued to the pair seated in such close quarters at the booth as soon as she'd spotted and recognized them. Her cheeks were just as flushed as Yoshikawa's when she saw them kissing, but her skin was alive and prickly with the exciting feeling that this was something she could definitely use to her advantage.

Once she'd recovered from her surprise, she grinned. "Well, well, well... Looks like trouble to me." Kaon hugged her bear closer to her, and her tone suggested that trouble was _exactly_ what she had been hoping to find.


	23. Cages

A/N: *inhale* Okay. *exhale* OKAY. These chapters seem to be getting trickier and riskier to write... So much that needs to happen, so many ways it _could_ happen... I feel like I'm drowning in words.

In other news, I might start answering reviews again, in my author's notes. If I do decide to go back to that, I will probably only respond to the guest readers (just to keep it short and simple on the page, not too terribly long and distracting) since I can respond to all the others through personal messages. The thing is though, I just don't know the best way to do it without interrupting the flow of the story. I preferred how I did it originally, putting them at the end of the chapter, but then someone told me they would rather have them at the beginning of the chapter, so... I have no idea *sigh* I am, how you say, hopeless? -.-

Also, the last part of this chapter was written on my phone in the car (my family and I are taking a late summer vacation this week) and let me tell ya people, motion sickness is a very real thing...

And on those notes, if I end up passing out from motion sickness and drowning in the words filling up my mind, let my dying message be this: I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for my readers. You guys never cease to put a smile on my face, whether you leave a review or PM me to have a chat. Thanks, guys. :3 *blub blub blub*

*gasp, cough cough* NOW, ON WITH THE PLOT!

CK:*

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cages

...

Usui stared blankly out the car window as it sped towards his awaited destination: Miyabigaoka High.

He was finding it increasingly difficult to take his mind off of his girlfriend. He also had thoughts of his brother and Igarashi swimming through his head, plaguing him, taunting. They had been discussing his transfer and separation from Misaki behind his back, and while he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, he had known he'd have to confront it all eventually. And Misaki knew just as much.

The conversation they'd inevitably ended up having had been... bittersweet, to say the least.

 _"I want to tell you something." Her usually honey-brown eyes glinted amber underneath the orange glow of a street lamp in her neighborhood. Usui had offered to walk her home from Maid Latte that night, and seeing that she had been unusually quiet all evening, he wasn't surprised when she stopped walking just before they reached her house._

 _Seeing the troubled expression on her face, Takumi felt the need to lighten the atmosphere a bit. He cracked a devious grin, inquiring hopefully, "Don't tell me. You've finally decided to agree to kissing in public now, Prez?"_

 _Her eyebrow twitched, but her response was quiet and firm,_ _"You need to transfer to Miyabigaoka."_

 _He blinked, taking a confused step back, even though there was a part of him that knew this would come up at some point. "Why?"_

 _"Because... Well, don't be mad, but I had a talk with Igarashi about things, and_ ― _"_

 _"Oh." Usui interrupted her with a low grunt of disapproval, his face straining with the effort to remain composed. "He's been lurking around a lot recently, huh? Some would call it..." He raised an eyebrow, pausing for dramatic effect, with his green eyes glittering much like hers did in the lamplight. "_ Suspicious _."_

 _Misaki's brow tightened to the point where Usui thought her face might be in danger of getting stuck that way. "Yes, he is innately a suspicious person. But that's not what this is about. He's not important right now, what's_ _important is that you_ ― _"_

 _"He's never important." Usui felt the need to correct her statement. "Not to us, at least. In fact, why you would ever entertain a conversation with him is beyond me, Ayuzaw_ ― _"_

 _"For your sake." She was clearly avoiding his gaze now, her blush appearing in full force, her words coming out in a timid meep_ ― _and all of it almost made him smile again_ ― _if it weren't for the heavy atmosphere surrounding them. "If it's for your sake, I'd... do the things that I usually wouldn't be willing to do."_

 _"You make that sound remarkably dirty, Prez." Usui deadpanned._

 _"S-shut up, baka Usui!" Angrily, she smacked him on the shoulder with enough force to possibly leave a bruise. He winced through his snickering. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation, here! Quit ruining the mood!"_

 _"You're the one who ruined the mood," He smiled back, eyes laughing at her show of violence, even if it_ had _hurt. Her strength had always, and would continue to, it seemed, astound him. It was one of her_ _admirable qualities, of which Usui believed, there were_ many _. "Suggesting that I transfer schools... Could it be," Green eyes widened to comical proportions. "that you're trying to get rid of me? If this is about that time I locked us in the broom closet at school, I'm sorry but... I still see no reason to apologize for that. I also believe_ _I should be given some credit for making sure I had you alone before kissing you_ ― _"_

 _He paused, catching her grumbling under her breath about having grown tired of him and his antics a long time ago, and when she caught him listening in, she glared mildly up at him. "For the record, Usui, locking me in a broom closet with you is not justifiable in any way!"_

 _"For the record, Ayuzawa," He tapped a finger against his lips to draw her attention there. "You did enjoy it." His eyes twinkled at the memory, and he smirked at the way her cheeks reddened further._

 _"That's besides the point!" She hissed back, while his teasing, beautiful laughter seemed to warm the air around them._

 _T_ _he blond boy would have continued with his soft chuckling, but then his girlfriend was_ _sighing deeply and stepping closer to him; close enough that he could see every single fleck of gold mixed in with the caramel brown of her eyes, and feel the heat of her skin without having to touch it. Noticing the change in atmosphere again, he looked down at her reluctantly, with a sigh of his own escaping his lips._

 _"Usui, I..." Her serious expression managed to make her look constipated_ ― _an altogether famous look he was far too used to seeing on her when she was considering something of the utmost priority and importance. "I want you to be able to confront your family, your past. The current approach you're taking isn't working, and if you don't... re-examine... the situation where you're being controlled, then..."_

 _"Ayuzawa..." Usui frowned. He wasn't sure what to say, but he knew it would be wrong to interrupt her again when she was obviously trying so hard, for his sake. It_ might _have been annoying that she had dug into his personal matters, and with Igarashi, no less... If it weren't also very touching that she was so concerned about him. So involved in his life, or trying to be, at least._

 _"...Then," Misaki had to take a another deep breath before finishing her thought. Clearly, this had been bothering her for a while now, and getting it off her chest finally was a bit difficult, though it had to be done. "Nothing can be resolved." Her eyes locked onto his like two missiles aimed for their target, and he knew without asking, that she was right about this, and she was daring him with that stern, stubborn gaze of hers, to say otherwise. "You need to transfer to Miyabigaoka, regardless of what that does to our relationship. I don't want to be selfish here, I want what's best for you, and if that means we have to separate for a while..."_

 _The rest of what she said was lost as strong arms quickly encircled her._

 _"Sly as ever, Prez." He smiled into her hair, eyes sad and cheeks the slightest bit flushed. He loved it when she was honest, but the honesty was too much at once, this time around. His heart felt tight within the confines of his chest, as if she were squeezing it in her hand. "It's no wonder you're the one who I ended up falling for..." He paused, debating silently for a moment as he held her close, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "...I'll do this, for both of our sakes."_

 _"Stupid Usui. Don't worry about me." Came her automatic response, but her actions betrayed her as she clung to the back of his shirt like a lifeline. "...They want to make you the second heir of the Walker family, you know." Again, her voice was timid, as if she wasn't sure of how to proceed, wasn't sure what would happen next._

 _But her alien boyfriend was an expert at dispelling her worries. "Where ever I end up, Misa-chan," He pulled out of his embrace to glance over her affectionately, green eyes bright and so full of love_ _that it took her breath away. "I'm sure nothing can tear us apart."_

 _When she cracked a small smile back at him, he couldn't help but to add on another playful comment, "After all, it's only proper for a maid to stay by her master's side."_

 _She smacked him again, and he laughed good-naturedly again, even if the pang of pain he felt far surpassed that of the physical kind._

"We're pulling up to Miyabigaoka now, sir."

The blond continued to stare out the window, not registering that the scenery was different. In fact, he was trying his best to envision Seika High in his mind, and with that came the fresh memory of the farewell his classmates had sent him off with...

 _Usui turned just before leaving Seika's campus for good, green eyes wide as they took in the crowd of students behind him._

 _"...What... Is this..." He wouldn't have felt so uncomfortable, maybe, if the majority of his classmates weren't taking on such an aggressive stance, glaring back at him._

 _"Idiot Usui! Did you really plan to leave without saying a word?!" Misaki's glare was probably the worst of them all, though._

 _And the blond sure hadn't expected her statement to be followed by a cacophony of others._

 _"Usui-san, you're really transferring?!"_

 _"Why so sudden?"_

 _"A Seika without Usui-kun! Waaahhh!"_

 _"What can I rely on to maintain my eyes in the future!"_

 _"Please don't go!"_

 _"Leaving after bidding farewell to everyone," Again, Misaki's voice rose above the rest. "That's only logical, right?!"_

 _Usui stared back at all of them, speechless for a moment..._

 _...and then it was too hard to keep a straight face anymore._

 _"Pfff... Ha-hah...ha..." He had to hold a hand to his side to keep his laughter under some form of control. "It fe... feels like I've entered a youth rebellion movie..."_

 _"Why are you laughing?! This is serious!"_

 _"Sorry, sorry," The blond boy straightened up, looking out at all of them with a happy sheen misting over his eyes. "I don't know... Any tear-jerking words of farewell. As for what I want to say, currently, I can only think of this,"_

And then, of course, he just had to walk up and kiss his girlfriend in front of everybody. Because Ayuzawa was his.

"Sir, it's time to get out. You don't want to be late on your first day."

"Alright." Usui finally answered his driver, propping open his car door and stepping out onto the new school grounds, which were without question, far more stately than what he was used to seeing at Seika.

He ignored any students in his line of sight chattering about him, commenting on this and that, he didn't really care. Tossing his school bag carelessly over one shoulder, Usui used his free hand to reach into one of his pants pockets, brushing his long fingers over the photograph of him and 'Misa-chan' taken at Maid Latte; a small token of their love that he always kept with him. A sort of 'good luck charm', he once told her. The ghost of a smile passed over his stoical face at the distant memory of the first time he had kissed her, and the look on her face when he had jumped off the top of the school building in order to protect her secret.

Priceless, and adorable, to see that she really _did_ care. The injuries he sustained from the fall were totally worth it to see her reactions.

Usui smiled a little more, still fingering the picture as he strode toward Miyabigaoka's entrance. Yes, it went without saying that she was completely his. And no matter where his problems took him, that would never change.

xx

It was astounding how quickly news spread around such a large school, Renei mused as she maneuvered her way through what seemed to be a much larger crowd of students than usual in the hallways. As she went, every person she passed by seemed to be talking about the transfer student.

"I heard he transferred here from some commoner's school ― strange, isn't it?"

"It's certainly unexpected."

"Did you _see_ him walk by earlier? He's positively to _die_ for!"

"I tried to approach him, but he acted like I wasn't even there. Maybe he's the shy type?"

"No, I think he's more of the aloof, bad-boy type."

"He seemed a little like Ryota-san. Quiet, but strong."

"So mysterious..."

"I think I'm in love already."

"Does he come from wealth? His last name is unfamiliar..."

"I do wonder what the President's business is with him... Did you know that he was the one to arrange the transfer?"

"Could they be related?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Seika High, huh? What kind of scum must he be, to come crawling out of there?"

"Hey, that new guy has a princely aura around him that fits in well here, don't you think?"

"No, seriously! I bet you my _entire_ allowance that I could make him mine in a week."

"Crap, look at the time! We should probably get to class now."

Renei hadn't noticed how slow she'd been walking until that last comment met her ears. She blinked past the blank, mindless gaze she'd taken on while listening in to other people's conversations, hurriedly picking up the pace in order to avoid lingering for any longer in the corridors. She just hadn't been able to help herself ― gathering information about Igarashi's 'important guest' seemed to take precedence over getting to class on time, just this once.

Minutes later, she did end up reaching the classroom on time. Even the sensei wasn't there yet; instead, Renei was greeted with the sight of the Elite huddled around the new student, and Kaon proclaiming that she wanted to talk to someone the blond boy seemed to be on the phone with. Surprisingly enough, after only a short pause, the guy handed his phone over and Kaon grasped it in her hands like a new toy she was excited to play with. This, of course, was not a good sign.

"Nice to meet you, you're that maid-san?" Kaon's voice was sly and silky as she spoke into the receiver. "It's so nice to have a master who cherishes you so much."

Renei's eyes widened as she stopped just inside the doorway, feeling awkward and out of place all of a sudden. She must have missed something before she had arrived... Or misheard the other girl, somehow... Had Kaon really just said something about a _maid?_ As in―?

"But what a pity," The younger of the Umekoji twins went on. "the pain of separation seems to be inevitable..." There was a pause, and then Kaon was smirking, casting a wicked glance over in Usui's direction. "I'm his fiancée, that's why. You can't be united with him, because he's with _me_."

"Kaon-san," Renei spoke the other's name loudly and angrily enough to get her attention from across the room. "What are you doing?" Indigo eyes narrowed sharply, taking in the current situation. That must be someone important to Usui on the other end of the phone call, and although she would definitely look into the 'maid' part of it later, she was not about to stand there and let Kaon spout nonsense in an effort to tear someone else's relationship apart. "Don't go causing trouble for the guy on his first day here. Give Usui-san his cell phone back."

Kaon merely stuck her tongue out at her, then turned to shush Tomu when he accidentally laughed aloud at the playful lie his sister had come up with.

Hands clenching at her sides, wanting nothing more than to start throwing blunt objects at the Umekoji girl's head, Renei switched targets and looked over at Usui a bit desperately, expecting he would do something about the matter.

He merely gazed back at her, green eyes the slightest bit taken aback as they swept over her in a cursory glance, before he seemed to lose interest and opted to stare off into space instead. His posture was relaxed, uncaring, aloof ― and Renei was just starting to figure that she must have read the atmosphere totally wrong, since he seemed perfectly unbothered by whatever trouble Kaon was trying to stir up...

"Oh, are you feeling hurt?"

But then she heard Umekoji taunting that stranger over the phone again, and even if she didn't know the person, she felt it would be wrong to not step in and end the verbal abuse. After all, if someone is being bullied and you are there to witness it, yet you do nothing to help, then that makes you no better than the one who's actually doing the bullying.

"Eh? Wait..."

Renei paused after moving no more than two steps in Kaon's direction, hearing the switch from confidence to uncertainty in her voice, and taking note of the pale, blank look that had overtaken her smirk out of nowhere.

For once, the pesky girl looked lost for words. "What... W-wait... Creepy... Treats people like... Air? W-why are you going on and on saying bad things about him?! Aren't the two of you― Hah? P-perverted alien from planet _what?_ "

Out of the corner of her eye, Renei saw Usui's head tilt forward and his mouth quirk upward in amusement. He might have been laughing quietly, too, though it was difficult to tell. Just what was going on here, exactly? An elaborate practical joke on his part?

"Hey," Tomu stepped forward, tired of listening in on a one-sided conversation. "Let us hear, will ya?" He reached over, snatched the phone out of his startled sister's hands, and pressed the speaker button.

 _"...all of that stuff aside, Usui Takumi is mine. Be it a transfer of schools or some other separation, no matter what the obstacle is, I believe he will return."_ A young woman's voice filled the stunned silence in the room, issuing a fiery challenge in her next words, _"Also, I have no intention of handing Usui over to anyone. So if you still want to fight, the only thing I will do is fight back with all I've got!"_

Usui smiled fondly at the cell phone, and it was such a genuine expression that it completely canceled out the notion of this being a practical joke.

"...How nice." Kaon was slow to respond, but sounded surprisingly calm when she finally did. Her face had that sly grin back again, as if she were actually enjoying herself now that something unexpectedly dramatic had happened. "Such arrogance makes me happy. A declaration of war ― I'm extremely excited."

There wasn't much to say after that, so she hung up the phone and handed it back to Usui. His smile faded into a poker face as he pocketed the device and turned away, making for an empty seat at the far back of the classroom, near one of the windows.

Renei watched him go with a somewhat pinched expression, wondering if the girl on the other end of that phone call had been who she suspected it might be. She certainly sounded interesting enough to be that person... Then again, Renei should know better by now than to jump to any conclusions. "If you don't mind me asking, who―"

"I apologize for my tardiness," Tora strode into the room then, straightening his tie and brushing past Renei without so much as a glance in her direction. "Several students pulled me aside on my way here..." When he spotted the other blond boy, he adopted a pleasant smile and went gracefully up the steps to greet him. "Ah, Takumi-san, it's such a pleasure to finally have you in our midst. The others have been treating you well, I hope?"

Usui half-smiled back in a way that did not even begin to reach his eyes. "Being friends of yours, they've acted just as I've expected they would." Came his lukewarm response. It was impossible to tell if he meant that as a compliment, or an insult.

"Indeed?" Tora stopped when he was standing directly beside the other, tall and imposing, his smile stretching to showcase glinting rows of teeth and the distinctive point of a canine. "Well, I think you'll find that we are a very accommodating group. Feel free to come to any one of us if you are ever struggling with anything." He held out his hand expectantly.

"Ohh, okay." The darker blond hummed and nodded his head, but he wasn't even looking in Igarashi's direction anymore. Instead, Usui had his face turned toward the window. "I'll keep that in mind." His voice had a far-away tune to it now, like his mind was somewhere else entirely. The air surrounding him might as well have spelled out 'DO NOT DISTURB', as he cast his green eyes to a distant place in the outside world, beyond everyone else's view.

Looking at him like that, Renei got the distinct impression of a caged bird, which made her stomach twinge and her hands clench at nothing in distaste. Personally, she knew all too well what that felt like.

Tora's eyes narrowed at being so casually shrugged off, but he lowered his hand and didn't bother to press the conversation any further. After all, such behavior was to be expected. Despite what he wanted others to believe, he and Takumi were not friends, and neither one of them had any intention to become so. They weren't going to miraculously settle their differences, and the close proximity to one another on a regular basis from now on was going to be uncomfortable, to say the least.

He turned to move away from the taciturn blond, perfectly fine with giving the other boy his space, for the time being. The guy was attending Miyabigaoka now, that was all that mattered. Tora had done his job thus far, now all he had to do was see it through to its end. And when he started something, he always made sure to finish it.

On his way down the stairs, his eyes met Renei's accusatory glare for a brief, burning flash, and he faltered ever so slightly in one of his steps.

xx

Time could be a tortuously slow thing when you paid close attention to it, and Renei got to realize this the hard way today. All throughout classes, she couldn't focus on any of the lectures, sneaking curious glances back at Usui and wondering how she should broach the topic of whether or not his girlfriend might be the very same maid her fiancée had designs on. And if she was... Well, then what? Renei supposed she would just have to cross that bridge once she got to it.

On top of these perplexing thoughts, there was the annoying, itching feeling of Tora watching her closely, whenever she turned to look back at Usui. The three of them seemed to be caught up in the world's most restless staring contest ― Tora with Renei, Renei with Usui, and Usui with the window he had yet to take his eyes off of over the past several hours.

Needless to say, when the final class before lunch break came to a close, Renei was extremely relieved. Closing her notebook, which had significantly less notes in it than it usually would, she sighed deeply and tossed another furtive glance back at the transfer student.

He wasn't there anymore.

Blinking in surprise, Renei felt Tora stand up beside her and was quick to do the same, brushing past him blindly in order to hurry down the stairs to catch up with Usui; who she now noticed was already at the door. How did he get there so fast? Great, he was a slippery sort of guy, wasn't he? That wouldn't make this easy on her. Not that she blamed him for wanting to escape all of the attention that came with being a new student. If she were in his place, she would try to be the first one out the door, too. And although the last thing she wanted to do was disturb him, she felt that what she needed to discuss with him was rather important, for both of them.

Renei had nearly reached her goal (he was fast, yeah, but so was she), hoping to tap the boy on the shoulder and ask as kindly as possible if he'd give her a moment of his time, when someone grabbed her elbow and pulled her back into the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tora smiled questioningly at her, ever the gentleman in front of all the other students, who were filing past them out the door.

"Unhand me." Renei made an honest effort to state it as a polite request, "Please."

His grip tightened, barely enough to hurt. "I believe I asked you a question."

"And I told you to unhand me." She couldn't possibly hear him, much less listen to him, when his actions were loud enough to bruise. "I even asked nicely." Raising her hand, she plucked his off of her elbow, calmly.

"And I told you," He repeated in a different tone, a darker one; snatching up her hand this time, and leaning in close so that no one other than her could see the way his gaze intensified, and flickered. "to tread lightly."

There weren't enough ways to describe how terribly _old_ his threats and warnings had started to become, but to put it plainly, Renei was sick to death of it. "It is no wonder," She started to say, before she could think twice about it ― before she could be bothered to consider that she didn't even have the proof (yet) to back up what she was thinking ― and at the moment, it was nothing more than a shot in the dark ― "that she chose him over you."

His eyes flashed, his grip once again tightening to just below the point of pain. "Not only do you not know what you're talking about, but you're just begging for someone to bring you down a peg, aren't you?" He remarked, voice cool. Deep. And polished, as if he actually had manners. Good ones, that is.

Her eyebrow acquired a mocking tilt to it. "You think _I'm_ the arrogant one?" She surprised herself with the level of amusement in her tone, but his statement was so ironic, she supposed she couldn't help it.

"As a matter of fact," There was a smirk lurking around his mouth, Renei didn't have to see it to know it was there. "I think you're the incognizant one." He paused, tilting his head as if to seriously consider something. "That being said, I suppose you wouldn't know what that word means, would you?"

Renei pursed her lips and hummed her annoyance. "Like I said," Her voice drifted into a murmur. "It's no wonder..." She was vaguely aware that the room was empty now, though the door was still open, so perhaps that would stop the looming blond in front of her from trying anything―

Tora's free hand grabbed ahold of her other one, pushing both of her hands up on either side of her head against the wall. Her eyes widened, shocked by his lack of concern at the fact that anyone passing by in the hallway could see them in such a position. "Like I said," He leaned in until his breath caressed her jawline, just below her ear, and Renei felt her body give an involuntary shudder when his lips brushed the sensitive skin there. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Her chest rose and fell between them, trying to take in air that had left her upon being caged in on all sides by his body. "And you... clearly don't know what personal space is."

He pressed a knee between her legs ― "What's the matter, Renei? Does being this close to me make you..." ― and blew a hot breath along the curve of her ear. "Nervous?"

Bringing his head up slightly, his eyes locked onto hers as he squeezed her hands harder than ever, as if to break them. And they both knew, he could have broken them. Easily. But that wasn't what made her nervous.

Not trusting herself to meet his gaze, Renei paused to stare over at their hands instead. Her smaller ones were crushed within his in a way that was rough and cruel and threatening, absolutely nothing like the light, careful touch she remembered, the last time they had been this close to one another.

"I have no idea," Renei said, at last; tone stiff, dark eyes frowning underneath the mask of indifference she tried to cover it up with, "What you are talking about."

Quicker than he could come up with a response ― it was difficult to think of one when those were his words in the first place that she had stolen from him ― she yanked her hands from under his and strutted out the door, blending in immediately with the thick crowd of students, who were no doubt in search of the same person that she was. But, somehow, in the short window of time it took for her to break away from Igarashi... the mysterious, caged bird with all the answers to her questions, had managed to disappear.


End file.
